Dirge
by PhantomThorns
Summary: After nearly losing Danielle forever, Vlad learns the true meaning of fear for the first time in his life. The fear of losing someone. He has killed for her sake before by destroying Freakshow, so what other dark deeds is Vlad capable of doing in the name of love...? (Sequel to "Haunted," a romance between Vlad and genderbent Danny. Rated T for sex, violence, and depression)
1. Reminiscence

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **I started a new story about Wulf, clone-Dani, and Vlad but since the plot sadly isn't that fleshed out so I'm putting the idea on hold for now and working on the sequel to _"Haunted"_ instead. I might still change the title of this story but I'm not sure yet. I couldn't think of anything else to call it that might fit the tone but still sound spooky. Anyways to those of you who are new readers, welcome, and in case you haven't read the first story I've taken the liberty of summing up more or less what happened in the last one. The Dani/Danielle in this story is the female version of Danny and not the clone and she's in a relationship with Vlad. If that makes any of you uncomfortable I'll understand if you choose to read something else. To those who are existing fans or who decide to stay, I hope you enjoy this story and remember that this is an AU fanfic so a lot of events borrowed from the show are going to be very different. This also contains sexual and gory scenes but I leave a warning before each chapter that contains anything like that. And with all that out of the way, please enjoy and don't forget to leave a review or follow to get updates on when I post new chapters!

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Chapter 1: Reminiscence

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Danielle's POV

_I was sad when Vlad had to leave again to finish things up in Wisconsin but I knew I would see him again soon and there was no point in dwelling on it. And so, life went on for me as usual and my usual pattern of fighting ghosts and going to school continued. Although little by little it was becoming a lot easier. Still, I couldn't help but feel like Vlad was hiding something from me. He's been acting strange since we spent the weekend together before Vlad was forced to go back to tie up some loose ends. On the outside, Vlad's smile was as charming as ever and his words were even more gentle and loving when we were alone, however, I could tell something inside of him had changed..._

_And it wasn't necessarily in a good way._

_Things between us hardly got off to a great start but back then Vlad was hell-bent on getting his revenge against the person who made him half-ghost too ___by accident_, my dad Jack Fenton. Vlad was infatuated and desperate for my mother's love since he thoroughly convinced himself that my dad _'stole' _her from him, just like he stole years of his life when Vlad was hospitalized with a horrible case of ecto-acne because of him. But when it comes right down to it, regardless of all of the wealth and power he accumulated over the years as he plotted his revenge, honestly ___Vlad probably had everything he could ever ask for _except for the one thing that those things couldn't give him. The truth is, at the center of all of this, Vlad just didn't want to be alone anymore with no warmth and laughter to break the silence within the halls of his lonely castle and no one to share his life with... _

_It all began when Vlad came up with this clever plan to convince my mom to leave my dad after humiliating him at their twentieth college reunion by overshadowing him and making him do and say awful things that would make us all turn against him. It was obvious right from the start that Vlad had a special place in his heart for my mom since she was his crush during their college days, but when I met him I felt this unusual sense of familiarity and was drawn to him from the very beginning. I couldn't tell you why but I found Vlad absurdly attractive even though he's older than me. It was love at first sight. _

_Vlad felt it too, a strong invisible bond between us, but like me he assumed it was just his imagination because he only wanted to treat my brother and I like his own children once he removed my dad from the picture and I only thought Vlad was a really cool guy who actually paid attention to how I felt and tried to comfort and support me when I was upset. It wasn't until later that we found out there was much more to it than that. _

_Not only that, but we were more alike than either of us could have ever imagined._

_That night, before Vlad could put the next phase of his plan into action, I thwarted them by safely phasing my dad through the floor and dropping him off in the nearest restroom using my ghost powers and then I returned to confront the three ghost vultures he sent after my dad while in my ghost form. And this wasn't even the first time I'd seen these vultures. I caught them at it once before too, long before we even began making the trip here for the college reunion with my family since my parents decided to drag us along and I kept the torn piece of photo that they had with them with my dad's face on it to show them who to attack, which meant there was someone else behind this attack. The vultures, however, fled before I could really do anything to them and then Vlad confronted me instead, wondering why the infamous ghost girl Dani Phantom would bother chasing his minions all the way out here._

_We fought shortly after Vlad revealed that he knew exactly who I was and what I did, but for all his boasting he didn't know the whole story about me just yet. He soon found out though. After defeating me, I passed out and to his surprise, he saw that there, laying on the floor, wasn't just any old ghost girl but rather someone who was still half-human, like him. That's when it all finally made sense. No wonder Vlad felt connected to me, it because we were the only two people like us in the entire world, halfa's, hybrids with ghost energy fused into our very DNA that gave us many strange and amazing powers..._

_That's when all of Vlad's plans changed and his feelings of lust grew so powerful that he decided to pursue me instead of my mom since there was so much more we could do and be together without having to hide who we were. Or at least not from each other. After that, he began dazzling me with charming words and thoughtful guidance after he _'saved me'_ from that ghost when I had an argument with my family the following morning since they just didn't seem to understand how much pressure I was under. _

_At first, it was all just part of the act to win my heart, but it wasn't long before Vlad actually began to genuinely sympathize with my situation. __And as a result of his kind words and patient understanding, I began to relax and rely on Vlad more even though we hardly knew each other. Especially since he seemed to actually give a damn about my feelings and noticed when I was feeling down. But sadly, some things about him weren't about to change that easily. The next day, when the reunion finally began, Vlad laid out a new plan to get me alone with him in his secret lab so he could reveal his secret to me in hopes of winning me over and convincing me to renounce my family since they obviously didn't care that much about my feelings and they wanted to control the way I was living my life or trying to anyway while juggling school and fighting ghosts in secret to protect everyone._

_Unfortunately for him, I wasn't THAT easily fooled. _

_When we went to his secret lab to supposedly go somewhere quiet after Vlad mentioned something about seeing those vulture ghosts too and I started to panic, thinking he saw me transform back when I passed out. What I didn't know yet was that Vlad WAS the vampire-looking ghost who knocked me out in the first place who later convinced my parents that I was attacked by his vultures instead the night before and he valiantly rescued me from them. I fell for his act too at first until I saw the rest of the torn photo with my mom, Vlad, and my dad all together back in their college days, but my dad's face had been torn off and the missing piece was the same one I found before when his vultures attacked me the first time. After that, I demanded to know what this was all about and Vlad tried to salvage the situation before ultimately putting his back up plan into action and tricking me into transforming into my ghost half to defend myself against the other goons he hired and sent after me as a distraction, including the ghost hunter Skulker that I was already familiar with that was lurking in the shadows, waiting for his signal._

Vlad rigged the whole thing and ordered Skulker to shoot me with this new ghost tranquilizing drug they were testing so he could make sure I couldn't stop him from putting on a convincing show of rescuing me again to convince my parents to let me stay with him for a while for my own safety. My parents didn't even hesitate to trust him with taking care of me, much to my dismay. And because I was still drugged and on top of that got sick when I had an allergic reaction to the sedative, I was trapped there with him with no hope of convincing my parents otherwise since__ I heard from Vlad later that they had already left after I blacked out the second time_. It hurt so much that they would dismiss my feelings so easily and just leave me here with a man I barely knew even after I tried to make it perfectly clear I didn't want to be there, especially after what Vlad did to me even though I couldn't tell them that without exposing my secret about being half-ghost too just like Vlad was. I was willing to though if I had to keep myself away from Vlad since I still felt threatened by him._

_Once Vlad and I were alone after that, he tried to win me over with honeyed words and seemingly empty promises of not harming me or my family but I was having none of it. Not even after Vlad accidentally confessed his romantic feelings and kissed me after telling me all the things he hoped we could accomplish together and how much he was genuinely worried about the way I was being treated at home. I felt conflicted and confused because in spite of everything that Vlad did, how he lied and manipulated me, part of me was still strangely attracted to him so strongly it was almost as if '_I'_ was the one obsessed with the idea of being loved by someone. I wanted to trust him since Vlad did try to stand up for me a few times and genuinely seemed to care about me, but his actions poisoned those feelings to the point that they scared me and so did his outburst when Vlad angrily told me not to think of myself as a freak because he had romantic feelings for someone younger than him. _

_So I tried to run..._

_Sadly Vlad chose the worst time to test his anti-human and ghost shield before I escaped and when I tried to get away it hurt me by mistake. He never intended to make me feel trapped here and was only testing it as a last resort, assuming I was still too weak to transform, but things went horribly wrong and Vlad was left with a huge dilemma. Should he let me go home after all and try to win me over again later, or should he try to salvage the situation again and convince me he never meant to do me any harm?_

_In the end, Vlad finally gave in and decided to give me that choice instead of choosing for me like before about whether or not I would stay with him. That alone helped a lot because I was all too used to people controlling my life since my parents were grooming me to take over Fenton Works when I was older after my brother made it clear he had other plans for his future. It was like my future and my dreams didn't matter one bit to them and I had no choice. That's why it helped so much that Vlad was giving me a choice at all even though he clearly didn't want me to leave. In fact, after that Vlad sincerely tried to change and prove to me that he wasn't all that bad and he didn't want to scare me away. He even promised not to go after my dad again so long as he didn't hurt me while I was in ghost form._

_Unsurprisingly I chose to go back home to process all of this on my own, including my feelings, and Vlad did everything in his power to make sure I had a comfortable trip back. He even promised to help me if I ever needed him to if I couldn't handle a ghost on my own or even with something as basic as asking for help with my homework. That meant a lot to me because it showed me that Vlad wasn't planning on going behind my back again to rig everything, well, maybe not to the same extent as before although he openly admitted he still had every intention of seducing me._

_Still, over time I finally started warming up to Vlad as he proved little by little that he wasn't the sort of man who would make the same mistake twice and now that he understood my feelings he wanted to prove how real his feelings were so I wouldn't keep thinking I was a substitute for my mom. In fact, according to Vlad, we were probably soulmates which even among ghosts is extremely rare and could give us access to powers few others could ever imagine..._

_A few months later Vlad tried to surprise me with a trip to his mountain chalet in the Rockies disguised as a contest I'd won to visit the Kennedy Space Center in Florida but much like the first time, his plans blew up in his face when the ghost pilot he hired misunderstood Vlad's plan and forced me off of his private jet right over the chalet. Understandably I was pissed when I stumbled across it and put two and two together. That lying asshole had tricked me again! I was so angry with Vlad and assumed that the whole reason he set this up was because he had another plot of a diabolical nature planned for me so I demanded that Vlad call my parents and send me home because I wasn't going to stand for this, being deceived again._

_That wasn't his intention this time, Vlad just wanted to get to know me without interruption but I was beyond done at that point. I was really looking forward to that trip and felt like I just couldn't win no matter what I did. I desperately needed a break and wanted to relax and enjoy myself. So when it all fell apart like things felt like they always did and this time it was Vlad's fault again I got pissed and outright called him an asshole to his face..._

_This action, however, had unexpected results because Vlad grew angry too because it was an honest mistake and it was never his intention to upset me, he cornered me against the sofa in the lounge of his chalet, hovering over me and then something inside of us made it impossible to think clearly and so after sharing a deep kiss we made love with each other for the very first time. It was a night of heated and feverish passion that I later came to regret so the first chance I got I ran off into the woods and cried myself to sleep, hating myself for giving in to those confusing feelings, unaware that even here...there were ghosts roaming the area._

_Thankfully Vlad was able to find me but since I was still recovering from the night before I wasn't able to fight as well as I might have and ended up getting hurt. But he saved me and treated my injury and explained that this surprise was meant to be a happy one, not a trick. He never meant to upset me or let me get hurt and Vlad honestly didn't know I felt so strongly about my dream to become an Astronaut. It never occurred to him that it was more than just a passing hobby of mine to dream about traveling the stars and exploring the unknown, just like my parents outright ignored that dream and told me I was going to be hunting ghosts when I grew up despite the fact that I was ALREADY doing that in secret and still wanted a life of my own once I graduated. __Provided I even would at this rate._

_At any rate, once Vlad explained himself and apologized we actually did have a pretty good time after that and I started relying on him more for help and advice. That is until someone else set their sights on me and plotted to take me away from everything and everyone I loved. His name was Freakshow, the ringleader of Circus Gothica and a human at that but he had a secret. For generations, his family has been controlling the minds of ghosts and controlling them to make them do their bidding and Freakshow turned his sights on me. He wanted to use my power along with his other minions to steal gold and jewels and remove anyone who got in his way. _

_The plan was simple, all Freakshow had to do was expose me to the power of his staff which was powered by blood magic to the point that I only had to see an image of it to feel its power entrance me. I still barely remember what happened the first time he controlled me but my friends managed to save me that time. To some extent anyway. You see, since I'm half-human it couldn't fully control my mind so sometimes I was able to regain my senses and that's what happened when my friend Sam was knocked off of the train. I flew after him while still carrying Freakshow's staff, which had been knocked out of his hand and I caught it but didn't know what to do since no one was holding it now and therefore couldn't give me orders, but all I could think about was saving my friend from an untimely demise..._

_I managed to save Sam from drowning, but I barely even remembered who he was at the time and was lost and scared and didn't know who to rely on. So in desperation, I went after the staff again which had fallen into the river, hoping to seek my master's guidance, but then the rapids dragged roughly me far away from where it lay in the depths. I almost drowned myself until a sort of...phantom of Vlad saved me and now that I was far enough away from the hypnotic powers of that staff I started to regain my senses. But I was still frustrated, scared, and confused so I reached out for help by calling Vlad and that was the last thing I remembered. After that, I lost almost all of my memories and didn't even know who I was anymore._

_Part of me remembered Vlad though so I trusted him enough to let him save me and bring me somewhere safe but, had I been in the right mind I would have stopped him from doing what he did next. It was all to protect me, to avenge me in case I never recovered from my amnesia, but I never thought Vlad would go that far even with our rocky history. Ha, get it? Because of the whole incident in the Rockies? Anyways moving on I guess it's still hard to imagine Vlad even at his lowest darkest moment would actually...kill someone. _

_That's right, in order to protect me from his hypnosis and dark magic, Vlad killed Freakshow to keep me safe. Sadly though, this seriously backfired because not only did Freakshow come back as a ghost...but when he kidnapped me again and took control of my mind again he set me loose against Vlad and I viciously attacked him. My friends were there too and managed to stop his second in command, Lydia, and break me loose but sadly Freakshow had a few more tricks up his sleeve and bound me to the power of his new staff he created using my blood this time..._

_At first it seemed to work since I attacked Vlad with a wild fury unlike anything he had seen before, but then, through some miracle Vlad managed to break through to me using our special bond and not only did we turn the power of that staff against Freakshow but Vlad was able to end his existence forever so he couldn't use me to threaten the lives of my loved ones or go after anyone else ever again. Still, those events showed me one thing, that I still have a lot to learn about being half-ghost and more importantly about what Vlad is truly capable of when backed into a corner and someone threatens the few things truly precious things in his life he can't replace. Turns out __I'm one of those things._

_I guess that's why I've been so worried about the way Vlad's been acting recently. What happened shook me almost as much as it shook him but we got through it alright. I trusted him with my life and know now that he would go to the ends of the earth to save me if need be. I wasn't a substitute for my mom, Vlad loved me for who I was and cherished each rare moment we could spend alone together. I just worry sometimes that Vlad is going to slip back into his old habits of scheming and weaving convincing lies and doing things behind my back for _'my own good' _since he didn't want to risk losing me to more than just some other boy like he lost my mom. He was afraid of me dying and leaving him alone in this world..._

_I can understand that, but, when I decided to hunt ghosts I knew the risks. So unless Vlad wants to help me actually fight them, the best thing he can do is trust me and help me learn more about what we are. There's still so much I don't know and I'm ready to learn whatever Vlad has to teach me. And maybe I could teach him to lighten up a little because I wasn't planning on going anywhere. My life is here and so are my friends and family, once Vlad is here too...I'd have no reason to want to go anywhere else until after I graduate. _

_And with him by my side, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I might just make it._


	2. Pensive

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Hmm, for some reason I'm not getting any emails about people following or favoriting my stories so it turns out that my _"Feral"_ story is doing better than I thought. But I still want to flesh out the idea a bit more before I continue and possibly re-write most of that chapter, but for now lets focus on this one. At least I'm still getting emails about chapter posts and reviews. Anyways, I said this before but this story is going to undergo a lot of changes from the show's canon so I'm probably going to re-imagine some events out of order just to fill in the time gaps before Vlad returns with something up his sleeve that's going to cause all sorts of problems, I also need some more excuses for him to become more and more paranoid that something might happen to Danielle again while he's away taking care of the rest of what he needs to to take over Axion Labs in Amity Park.

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Chapter 2: Pensive

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Danielle's POV

Things were surprisingly quiet for a while until Spectra infected everyone at my school with a ghostly virus to gather samples to make a new body for herself. But big surprise she wanted something from me too and it brought back vivid memories of when Freakshow drained some blood from me to create his new staff in some sort of ritual. Spectra planned on taking whatever she needed by force too by strapping me to a table with anti-ghost bindings after knocking me out with sleeping gas when I went to make sure Sam and my brother were alright. Especially since we knew this whole thing was ghost related because just that morning I fought a giant mosquito that broke apart into at least a hundred small ones that phased inside almost everyone at school and Trish is one of the few besides me who didn't get sick, in fact she was outside the facility acting as my back up since hospitals still freaked her out a little too much.

Thankfully I managed to trick Spectra by giving her a handkerchief that belonged to my dad and oh boy did it make her look as ugly on the outside as she was on the inside after Trish swallowed her fears and came to bust me out. After that we managed to capture her and her little sidekick and used the home-made perfume Trish used that miraculously acted as a ghost bug repellent to get the ghost bugs out of everyone they infected since it gave them ghost powers but unlike me they weren't built to handle that kind of power and were slowly fading away. It almost made me wonder what would have happened if I didn't successfully become half-ghost and what it must have been like for Vlad to slowly endure something like this for years, stuck in a hospital much but at least his doctors were human and had nothing to do with anything even remotely ghost-related.

I didn't want my friends to worry, especially since Sam was still pretty worn out, but after that whole thing I called Vlad because it brought up some questions I wasn't willing to ask him before, not to mention I was looking for some comfort from him since the whole being strapped to a table unsettled me when it gave me flashbacks to what happened with Freakshow. He was understandably concerned when I told him the whole story and demanded to know if I felt even the slightest bit sick but when I assured Vlad that I felt fine he relaxed a bit. Still, Vlad made it clear he wasn't happy with me taking those kinds of risks so I had to convince him I could still handle myself.

It wasn't like Vlad was helping me fight ghosts when this all started so I'm used to working mostly alone or with my friends, we made a good team and I was getting better at it. The whole Freakshow thing was a one time disaster and I couldn't keep dwelling on it and neither should he. But since then I have been trying to be a lot more careful and not take as many risks when I fight my enemies especially when it comes to figuring out what they're after and what they're capable of. Especially since Vlad wasn't around right now.

I had files on all the ghosts I've encountered more than once too so really I had most of my bases covered. And unless Vlad planned to stop me from hunting ghosts once he moved here or actually fight them along side me, I wasn't about to back down now.

I know Vlad was just being protective but sometimes I hated it because it reminded me of my brother Jason and how he's always treating me like I'm made of glass too and my cracks are showing when I'm stressed. At least Vlad had a reason to be worried since the Freakshow thing was a close call I'll admit, but still I didn't want Vlad treating me like a little kid, especially now that we're more or less a couple...

I was a bit annoyed with Vlad after that but then secretly glad he was still in Wisconsin when this new ghost, a kid named Young Blood, kidnapped nearly all the adults in town after teaming up with Ember and hypnotizing everyone with subliminal music. Even Jason was effected since he thinks he's like an adult. It's one of the few times I had to team up with the other kids at my school as a human too to get our parents back and it felt nice showing off that I actually knew a thing or two about ghosts.

It didn't last though when I had to duck out and transform to finish the fight and they assumed I turned tail and ran. Well, whatever, at least our parents were safe again and even they couldn't argue that I did play a big part in getting them back so at least they didn't bully me again for a little while...

Speaking of which, that reminds me, when I went back to school just before Vlad left I was absolutely dreading it because I was afraid that Steve and his girlfriend were going to go around spreading lies about me being a little too close to Vlad Masters and going on what looked like a date with him. I mean we WERE close, but I didn't want everyone else knowing that.

I was shocked however to find that neither Steve or his girlfriend actually remembered seeing us at the music store at all. He made some comment about wondering if I enjoyed my weekend, but then he made a jab about me sitting alone in my room like the loser I was and that made me realize pretty quickly that Vlad must have overshadowed them and made them forget about the encounter.

At first I was kinda mad that Vlad would do that but then it dawned on me that this wasn't so different from when I did the same thing to avoid trouble, at least when it was ghost-related. I relaxed a bit after that until his girlfriend outright freaked when she saw me and started tearfully apologizing for being mean to me and then dragged her boyfriend off, her eyes wide and fearful. I was shocked because she still couldn't remember actually seeing me at the mall so it made me wonder why she would apologize for something like that and tell her boyfriend to leave me alone, almost like she was terrified of me.

Now that started setting off alarm bells because if I remember right she was the one who was actually calling me really nasty names like 'slut' and things like that in front of Vlad so what exactly did he do to her as a ghost, what did he make her think happened to change her attitude towards me...? I wanted to talk to him about it directly but by the time I got out of school that day Vlad had already flown back to Wisconsin and couldn't wait anymore since he had an important business thing going on he couldn't put off anymore.

I thought about talking to him about it over the phone but that didn't seem like a good idea so as much as it bothered me I let it drop. I couldn't do anything about it at this point anyway even if I wanted to and at least this meant the rumors going around wouldn't have anything to do with me or Vlad. Still, I did talk to my friends about it even though I still haven't told them Vlad and I are romantically involved and all they know is that I was spending time with Vlad to thank him for everything he did for me. I planned to thank them too but we were having a hard time finding the time to hang out much honestly...

Besides, we really haven't had the chance to really talk about everything that happened when they first met Vlad and both Sam and Trish told me they wanted to talk to me about it. I've gotta be honest though, I've kinda been avoiding the subject and keeping myself busy while trying to figure out how to broach the topic because they still didn't know that Vlad's the one who killed Freakshow in the first place and this allowed him to become a ghost by mistake which caused that whole mess.

I didn't want them thinking that Vlad was dangerous because he wasn't, at least not to me, and I didn't want them telling me to break things off with him because he was bad news. Sam already seemed to hate his guts for some reason while Trish was on the fence about it since she trusted me but also didn't want me running with the wrong crowd.

Either way, we still needed to talk one way or another.

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"Would you mind passing me the chips Trish?" I asked since we finally managed to find the time to hang out and were watching a movie at Sam's place.

Turns out that he had his own mini-theater in the basement with a huge flat-screen TV, a soda machine, a popcorn maker, and even a bowling alley in the room next to us. I didn't find out his parents were loaded until later but Trish found out ages ago after the whole garage sale fiasco when we first encountered Technus and he infected almost all the electronics I sold from our garage, including a universal remote Sam bought to help me buy an outfit to a party the popular kids where hosting that I was invited to thanks to Jace. Not that it matters because the whole thing was a bust and I felt awful for ditching my friends to get a taste of popularity.

Handing me an unopened bag of Doritos, I tore it open to refill the bowl in my lap before handing it back and munching away. We agreed to get the fun part out of the way before we got into anything serious because lets face it, these days things were almost always serious when we were together trying to figure out how to stop one ghost or another. Now I can see why Trish was getting really tired of dealing with all this because frankly, so was I.

But what else could I do?

My enemies weren't going to stop attacking the people of this town even if I asked politely so it wasn't like I had much of a choice. Even with Vlad's support, they had a bad habit of becoming bolder despite hearing what he did to Freakshow, arguing that he was human first and just barely became a ghost so it wasn't like he was THAT powerful of a foe. That's why I was still fighting ghosts.

"Dani, we really need to talk," Sam began, turning the TV off as soon as the credits started to roll. "I know you've been avoiding the subject but there's something you need to know about Vlad. He's really not the saint you think he is."

"Wow, way to go for the jugular, Sam," Trish pointed out, refilling her soda before sitting next to me again on one of the large bean bag chairs, "Did you really have to be so blunt about it?"

"Well considering how often Dani STILL gets attacked and targeted by ghosts despite his so-called protection, yes." Sam sighed, giving me a meaningful look. "Look, I'm just worried about her ok? We both are because a lot has changed since that rich guy came into the picture. Not to mention that things went from bad to worse when Vlad provoked that psycho Freakshow and we both nearly died, Trish. And Freakshow was already bad enough as a human with blood magic, but as a ghost? Who knows what might have happened."

Frowning I argued, "Exactly. If it wasn't for Vlad Freakshow might have brainwashed me completely and kidnapped me for years before realizing I wasn't just a ghost. He's not perfect but Vlad's at least trying to help. It's just that he's...not used to doing nice things for other people besides the few Vlad keeps close and since we're both half-ghost we can't really get much closer than that. Anyways what's this really about Sam? You've been acting weird ever since you met the guy and I'd like to know why."

"Isn't it obvious?" Trish smiled, elbowing me, "He's jealous that you spend more time with your secret boyfriend then with us..."

I blushed, still hating how she was right and yet I still didn't want them knowing that since I was afraid that they would judge me for liking someone twice my age, so I dismissed her teasing by rolling my eyes and scoffing, "It's not like that-"

"Isn't it?" Sam interrupted, his tone serious and something like a strange mixture of hurt and longing shining behind his violet eyes.

"Dani..." looking away from us, he continued more quietly, "You told us yourself that things started off really sketchy between you and him, even if you won't tell us all the details, but haven't you noticed how possessive Vlad is? Especially now? I mean the guy is moving out of his fancy castle JUST to be close to you which is honestly a bit creepy if you ask me. I'm just worried that you're relying on him too much just because he's the only other person like you. But Dani, he doesn't care about the rest of us, Vlad told me that himself when you ran off to calm Trish down after risking a visit to the hospital to check up on me before Freakshow kidnapped you the second time. So personally I think you're better off without him."

Sighing, Sam admitted, "I won't deny that Vlad helped out a lot when you were captured and we worked together to free you from Freakshow's control but in his eyes we were just tools to him. In fact, if we weren't your friends I doubt he would have protected either of us at all let alone led the search party to me when I fell asleep by the fire. I'm just saying, don't let him drag you down Dani because we might not know him, but we know you and you're a good person. He wasn't wrong about that, you sacrifice a lot for our sake and wear yourself out and I'm with Trish on this, if Vlad really wants to help he'll start pulling his weight and actually help you fight off all these ghosts or hire someone to do it for him so it's not all on your shoulders. Either way, you need a break from all this because Trish and I have both noticed how jumpy you are even when there aren't any ghosts around. And we're starting to worry you're pushing yourself too hard trying to impress this guy and prove something that we already know, that you're an incredibly strong person who cares about the people around her."

I glanced at my two friends, suddenly unsure of myself and again feeling bad for not telling them everything but if they knew the truth they might think I'm out of my mind or that Vlad's the one who brainwashed me into depending on him so much. I could understand their concern, I really could, and they were right, maybe I was pushing myself too hard. I just didn't know what else to do to convince Vlad to help me for the very same reason Sam pointed out, Vlad doesn't really care about other people, he cares about HIS people and for now that only included me and maybe my brother since they seemed to get along and both actually took the time to make sure I was doing alright.

Turning to Trish since she's been awfully quiet this whole time I asked, "Trish? What do you think about all this? Do you agree with Sam?"

Putting a hand on my shoulder, Trish nodded and said, "Dani, even if you won't tell us the whole story we're not blind, we know you're really close to him but you have to ask yourself if he's really worth it. Vlad's nice enough to me but I'm also not a threat to him. He's obsessed with you Dani. We just don't want you to get hurt when he takes things too far and keeps you from doing what you do best which is fighting ghosts. At the same time though Sam and I know that we can't keep this up forever and neither can you. So just think about it. You don't want to keep doing this for the rest of your life like your parents do right? Don't you want to go to college and have a normal-ish life and maybe find a boyfriend? Someone who isn't a fossil? No offense to Vlad but this...thing between you, whatever it is, isn't healthy. It's like you can't function without him anymore and you feel so distant when we hang out like you're lost in your own little world. Or maybe I'm imagining it because you've been fighting ghosts non-stop since the meteor shower when you asked me to cover for you so you could spend the weekend with him."

"Is this supposed to be an intervention?" I suddenly asked defensively, feeling cornered by their words.

"Only if it needs to be because Dani you're working yourself to the bone and even tonight you look -and pardon the expression- dead on your feet. I could tell you were barely even watching the movie and kept just blindly eating more snacks, that isn't like you. Usually, we all shout at the people and laugh and tell them not to do something stupid before the zombie shows up but it's like you were ACTING like a zombie yourself." Sam said, plopping down next to me on the other side of my beanbag chair.

Realizing they were only worried about me I finally admitted, "No, you're right, I have been overdoing it lately but like you said, I'm doing this so Vlad DOESN'T feel that overprotective of me. He's not a bad person. Sure he's made mistakes but so have I and Vlad's just scared of losing someone he cares about again. He never expected to meet someone like him and neither did I so I..." biting my lip I trailed off, resting my head on his shoulder and sighing, "I just don't want to disappoint everyone again that's all, including you two. I really messed up with Freakshow and he almost got away with his plans. I try so hard but I always feel like I'm lagging behind. That's why I need to toughen up so I can keep protecting you guys too. I don't want to risk your lives again if I can help it and if I have to, I'll start doing this by myself so I don't put you in danger anymore. I know that's what Trish wants because the Freakshow thing spooked her too. I get that. But I-"

"Dani, it's ok, we understand. Just don't put too much pressure on yourself ok?" Trish began, hugging me at the same time as Sam when I started to tear up. "We're in this together and we won't leave you hanging. When I suggested that you take a break it wasn't so much about us as it is about you despite how I feel about hunting ghosts all the time. I know you have an important job and it's a dangerous one, but we'll keep supporting you no matter what!"

"She's right, even if Vlad won't help you fight ghosts we will," Sam said with a determined glint in his eyes. "Even when he's not here, you're not alone ok? You still have us."

Nodding, I smiled and hugged them back, saying, "And I wouldn't have it any other way."


	3. Speechless

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Hmm, ok after scanning the remaining episodes again and figuring out which ones haven't or won't be used in this story I think I may have to skip most of them entirely and change things up a bit with some new encounters and enemies. Although right now Danielle's biggest enemy is doubt...as well as confusion surrounding the strange power that ties her and Vlad together. Also, I have a nod in here to another story but I forget which one so sorry about that.

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Chapter 3: Speechless

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Danielle's POV

"...Fenton..." I registered a voice calling to me but I ignored it. Couldn't they give me five more minutes? First period wasn't going to start for at least another ten or so.

My head snapped up however when a heavy book slammed onto my desk and I flew, thankfully not literally, out of my chair and crashed to the floor with a startled yelp after tumbling out of my chair. Everyone in class besides Sam and Vallen were laughing at me as I pulled myself off of the floor and straightened my chair, my cheeks burning. I glanced up at the teacher sheepishly but she looked unimpressed, even annoyed, at my explosive display just now.

"Miss Fenton, what have we told you about falling asleep in class?" She snapped, drumming her fingers across the book she slammed onto my desk a moment ago.

"Not to..." I began, still blushing but then I argued, "But it wasn't on purpose! I got here early and thought there was enough time to-"

"No excuses Miss Fenton. It's straight to the principle's office for you," she said, pointing at the door.

Irritated, I grabbed my things and even though I shouldn't have, I glared at her and snapped, "Well, I guess this is what I get for actually finding the time to do my homework unlike half the jocks in this room who pay or bully someone into doing it for them. And maybe if someone had been nice enough to wake me up when class started then maybe you wouldn't have felt so inclined to go out of your way to scold me by slamming books onto my desk instead of shaking me or tapping me on the shoulder like a normal person..."

After that, I curtly brushed past her and made my way to the principle's office almost mindlessly since I've done it so many times now. I really didn't mean to oversleep and it figures they waited until we were halfway through class to notice I wasn't participating. Or maybe they just didn't care until it seemed like a good time to sick the teacher on me. And why didn't Sam wake me up huh? He sits right next to me for crying out loud!

Anyways, to be honest, I'm still getting used to doing normal things again after what happened with Freakshow, but things rarely get any easier for me as time passes. Especially now that the bullies at my school have found the courage to tease me again after my supposed near-full-death experience with that asshole. Some things never change I guess, not even when Vlad steps in to overshadow Steve's girlfriend to make her deathly afraid of even mentioning my name. Funny, given how I never really found out HER name.

Oh, and did I mention when she dumped him Steve blamed me for it? How was that my fault? He was the one who kept telling her to stop freaking out whenever I passed them in the hall, acting like I was about to snap my fingers and light her hair on fire if she so much as looked at me for too long. Eventually, I got tired of it too and asked her what she thought I did or said that made her feel so threatened.

Honestly, when she told me it all sounded like frightened gibberish so I gave up and left it at that. Not a week later I found out that she broke up with Steve and he started shooting me such nasty glares in class it was almost like an ecto-energy ray shooting the back of my head. I'm just lucky I was a girl and not even the bullies at this school would go so far as to hit a girl since it would put them in a world of hurt for more than one reason. One being I could actually kick their ass and the other that not even a jock could get away with laying a finger on me, they'd get suspended for sexual abuse. That didn't stop them from acting all passive-aggressive or loudly making fun of how tired I was all the time and wondering why that was...

Sadly, that part was true.

It was like, the moment Vlad left both the ghosts and the bullies at my school took it a sign that it was safe to harass me again. I managed to spend a few days without indecent with Sam and Trish but it wasn't long before a bunch of new ghost activity sprung up again. I suppose my only lucky break was that Skulker knew that Vlad's threats weren't idle ones so we had this sort of...weird truce going on that he'd leave me alone as long as I didn't get in the way of his hunting. But hey, as long as he wasn't hunting me or my few ghost allies like Wulf and Cujo that was fine by me. Not to be mean but it was hard enough for me to save other PEOPLE from ghosts so saving ghosts from other ghosts wasn't something I was really looking to do. I would of course if the ghosts weren't evil but besides his fascination with me, Skulker cared more about capturing rare beasts rather than caging or skinning other sentient ghosts.

Speaking of ghosts, I cursed when I was about halfway to Mr. Lancer's office, since the principal herself was out of town which put him in charge of us instead, and my ghost sense went off. Thankfully the hallway was deserted since second period hadn't started yet, but out of habit I still dashed for the nearest hiding place and transformed before reentering the empty hall.

After that, I tried to locate the ghost when I noticed something...odd. I was floating towards the ceiling to phase outside to get a better look at the surrounding area when I felt something, like cool fingers brushing my throat and I flinched away only to blink rapidly in surprise when a ghost became visible inches from my face, smiling at me strangely as a curtain of pale blue hair floated around their face like we were underwater. In fact, their whole aura seemed to shimmer on their pastel blue skin like sunlight sifting through the gentle waves of water above them. I've never seen a ghost like this so it fascinated and unnerved me all at once.

"What a lovely voice you have my dear, so dulcet yet as fierce as any violent storm which tosses the sea when scorned..." they smiled, reaching towards me again. "We're so much alike, you and I, beautiful, wild, and deadly like sirens of the deep..."

I raised an eyebrow, snapping out of my confusion and crossing my arms, "Great, just what I need, another ghost that wants to recruit me and make me do their dirty work. Well, I've got news for you, that's not happening!" Charging both hands with ecto-energy I was about to wipe that smug look off her face when the strange water-like ghost lilted in that same sickening sweet voice that made my skin crawl...

"Now now there's no need for that. I only came since I heard a rumor that you have a lovely singing voice to be envied even by that vixen Ember Mclain. They were right. I managed to feel an echo of it in your throat, hear it your manner of speech. Such untapped potential and you're wasting it, my sweet child. You know not the gift you possess, or many gifts really seeing as you are like one of us yet you cling fruitlessly to your mortality. Such a pity," she tutted afterward, elegantly tucking some of her floating hair behind her ear as those silvery eyes watched me with interest. Well, I say silvery but they were so pale they were almost completely white.

Lowering my arms I eyed her suspiciously and asked, "Ok, now I'm confused. If you're not here to attack me...what ARE you here for? And what's all this weirdness about liking my voice so much?"

Her eyes sparkled dangerously as she circled me, her voice almost echoing in my head and that's when I noticed how quiet it was otherwise, how dark and surreal the rest of the lighting around us was almost like the whole school was completely submerged underwater which muffled every other sound. "Oh I am just about to get what I came for, but since I detest violence I'll be gentle with you. Stealing voices is simply my nature, I collect them you see. And yours will be the crowning jewel of my collection. I've been using this one for far too long and would like to try something new, something a little younger."

I opened my mouth to demand to know what she was talking about when it felt like water was rushing into my lungs and I couldn't breathe! I knew we couldn't literally be underwater so I tried to fly away from her but it was like the air was being sucked out of my throat towards her like a vacuum. Struggling against the strange sensation I grimaced and tossed a few energy rays at her but they seemed sluggish, again like the air was so heavy with the weight of water around us that it slowed everything down and yet she effortlessly glided away, cupping her hands to cradle a pure white lily with glowing blue veins and a matching glowing orb in the center of it that was whispering to her in my voice!

I rushed at her as fast as I could but my body wouldn't obey so I sunk down to the floor, gasping for air and glaring up at her as she laughed and it slowly morphed into my voice instead of the one she originally spoke to me in as the flower's petals closed and the light faded into her throat as if she had swallowed the orb of light. It was just like that one scene when Ariel from the Little Mermaid sold her voice to Ursula the Sea Witch, only my voice was being stolen by some freaky ghost! And the worst part is that I couldn't fight back, because believe me I tried but the combined heaviness in the air and lack of oxygen made it nearly impossible for me to touch her.

By the time it was all over and she spoke again in the voice she just stole from me, the ghost said mockingly, "I'll be sure to take good care of your voice. I haven't stolen the voice of a talented singer since- Ah no matter, the point is you'll never have to see me again. Isn't that nice of me? Saves you the trouble of capturing me and sending me back to the Ghost Zone like the others. Have a wonderful rest of the day my dear! And look on the bright side, at least now you don't have to justify giving anyone a response because you can't!"

And with that she spared me one last wicked smile before suddenly disappearing in a burst of bubbles, leaving me sitting hunched over on the floor clutching my throat and greedily sucking in lungfuls of air as soon as that strange heaviness vanished along with her. Honestly, I nearly blacked out from shock when the pressure left so suddenly. But I was beyond pissed off. That stupid ghost stole my voice like it was nothing! Am I still so bad at fighting ghosts that I can't even-!

"Dani! Are you ok?!" Sam suddenly called from down the hall, rushing towards me as soon as he saw me on the floor sitting on my knees clutching my throat. I was still in ghost form so he guessed that I must have run into a ghost along the way but explained anyway. "After you were kicked out of class Mrs. Aston called Mr. Lancer to make sure he knew you were coming and made it to his office but he said you never did so I asked if I could use the bathroom and then came to find you. What happened?"

I wanted to tell him, wanted to scream at the top of my lungs that some ghost witch just stole my voice, but I couldn't make the slightest sound. My chest was still heaving from almost drowning or at least feeling like it so I shook my head and transformed back into my human self just in time when the bell rang and people started pouring into the hallways to get to their next class. They immediately spotted us on the floor and some look curious and others looked snobbish and jeered that we were probably skipping class to make out and started laughing and that's when Mr. Lancer showed up too and parted the crowd.

"Great Gatsby, would you please move? Honestly! And there you are Miss Fenton, what are you doing here? You were supposed to be going to my-" he began but the moment Mr. Lancer saw that I was gasping and coughing he knelt down, took me by the shoulders, and asked with a forced calm, "What's wrong, can you breathe? Everyone, please, give us some space and get to class, there's nothing to see here..."

The rest of what happened was a bit of a blur, to be honest, Mr. Lancer asked Sam to help escort me to the nurse's office while they called 911 and to keep me calm. I could see why he'd do that but that almost made me feel worse. I didn't want nurses and doctors poking at me and finding something weird. So while he was distracted with that I pulled out my cell phone because as much as I hated to contact Vlad with yet another ghost problem I was having, losing my voice WAS kind of serious. Not life-threatening, but still serious.

There wasn't enough time to type out a message so I opened my contacts and pointed to Vlad's number, giving Sam a look and he quickly caught on that this was somehow ghost-related even if it was already obvious because of the fact that he found me in the hall in ghost form. He frowned but nodded regardless, promising to call him for me after taking my phone and pocketing it just before we entered the nurse's office and I started to get dizzy since it was still hard to catch my breath. I was proud of myself for not fainting like a damsel but still, what happened today was so fast and sadly it left me quite literally...

Speechless.


	4. Disinclined

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Since the last chapter was shorter than usual I decided it was ok to make this one longer than usual. Also, thankfully I seem to be getting emails about new followers and people favoriting my stories again which is great news! Anyways I hope you'll enjoy this since we haven't seen Vlad's POV in a while and I decided to bring him back sooner than expected into the narrative. Don't worry though, there will still be plenty of drama to come! Some of it his own fault for underestimating Danielle's abilities!

* * *

Chapter 4: Disinclined

__(Chapter inspired by Sing Me A Love Song by Barlowgirl)__

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Vlad's POV

After what felt like an insufferably infinite number of delays, at last things were falling into place so I could finally be close to my beloved Danielle. Not to mention I was looking forward to personally giving Danielle the good news that I had successfully, and legally, acquired Axion Labs. I also finished the last of the mansion's renovations there in Amity Park and arrived in town just last night, which meant she could visit any time she wanted from here on out like before when she came for personal tutoring with me. Ironic, given how I was going to be helping her learn more about her ghost powers too before long in secret and lavish Danielle with my love and many tender kisses while hidden safely away from prying eyes.

I still had to manage my other businesses too of course, but those rarely required any direct intervention from me these days. Obviously I still kept a close eye on everything, but thankfully it is a well-known fact in the business world that very few people have made it out of their employment with my companies with their career's or overall reputation's intact if they so much as took a single step out of line or insulted me with their incompetence. This knowledge keeps most people on task. Besides which, in general I'm very adept at solving several different business crisis's at once since I've been running several successful ones for many years now.

I'm also hoping that by simply being here on a more long-term basis would also prevent Danielle from having to face so many problems on her own with all these ghost pests troubling her. Once they know she's well protected, they should start to back off more. Truth be told I absolutely hate that this keeps happening despite my best efforts to discourage these attacks.

Danielle has told me many stories about some of the ghosts she has recently faced in my absence that have caused her a lot of grief. But I'm pleased to know that at least Skulker knows better than to ignore my orders, which are to leave her be or else I will make it my personal mission to hunt HIM down and mount his mechanical head on my wall. Doubtless, the temptation was still there but Skulker also knew that if he attempted to hide his actions from me Danielle speaks with me almost every day and would inform me of any disobedience.

I've noticed that Danielle's still been pushing herself too hard while trying to prove something to me, herself, or perhaps some of both. But I only want her to be safe, even if I know she's very strong in her own right that doesn't change the fact that Danielle is the one thing in my life worth protecting at any cost. I suppose that's why I have a plan she doesn't know about yet, a plan that will make the two of us so powerful that no ghost will dare to challenge us again...

But that is a matter for another day.

For now, I'm just happy to be back here even though this town is so pathetic and small. Not to mention I would likely have to suffer through many a family dinner with Danielle's parents if I wanted to see her for any length of time at present. Sadly her grades have begun slipping again due to the rise in ghost attacks which meant Danielle was having a difficult time finding the free time she needed to study or even sleep which was beginning to worry me. In fact the last time we spoke I insisted that we end our call early so she could try to get some sleep; the poor dear couldn't stop yawning despite her best efforts which clearly annoyed her but she suffered through it since Danielle finds solace in turning to me when not even her friends can understand her plight.

It warmed my heart knowing we had a special bond and that Danielle wasn't afraid to ask for my help now, but lately, she's been...reluctant to admit when she needs help since she dislikes being treated like a child. I know that's how it may look to her, however, that couldn't be further from the truth. True she was young and inexperienced, even a little naive, even so, I love her and Danielle hasn't quite realized all that those feelings mean. There were risks since she was underage, but I was willing to face them to be with her. And if my theory about our possible extended lifespans due to our ghost halves proved true, then maybe someday we could build a new life together where we could love one another freely.

Checking my wristwatch again I noticed that it was nearly time for lunch and when she could find the time Danielle would normally send me a brief message to let me now she was alright and how many ghosts she had seen during the day. I wanted to see if there was any pattern as far as the frequency of these attacks went, but overall the ghosts who often came through her parents portal were ambitious and targeted her simply because Amity Park was Danielle's lair so to speak which meant they'd have to go through her to accomplish anything worthwhile. That's what happens when you play hero sadly...

Regardless, when my phone did go off just as the thought of her crossed my mind, for some reason the suddenness of it was unsettling so it made me wonder if something happened. I was barely able to start reading it when my phone rang instead and it was Danielle's parents calling me. I let Maddie know I was in town and told her I wanted to surprise Jack by coming over for dinner tonight even though in truth I wanted to steal a moment alone with Danielle if I could, but clearly something had happened so I composed myself and answered the phone to find out if this was cause for concern or my imagination.

"Vlad Master's speaking," I answered, settling down in one of the sofas in the lounge.

_"Vladdy, it's Jack! Um, Maddie wanted me to call you since we have a big problem! We're at the hospital right now but get this, some spook showed up at Casper High today and stole Dani's voice! She had to write down what happened but it's true, she can't say a thing right now no matter how hard she tries. And the doctors say they can't find anything wrong with her apart from that. At first, they thought she might be lying about it to get attention but when we asked Mr. Lancer what happened he told us that even her teacher says Dani was fine before she sent her to the Principle's office and they found her in the hallway gasping for air. That's why we gotta find that ghost and get her voice back pronto V-man! Can you help us? I know it's a lot to ask since you only just got here but we could really use your smarts to help us figure out what kind of ghost could do something like this. I won't let them get away with messing with my family!"_ After that Jack began angrily ranting about all the different way's he was going to make this ghost pay but I was too busy processing his words.

A ghost...stole her voice? Recomposing myself so that I didn't allow my anger to show either, I asked, "Jack, would it be alright if I came to see Danielle? I've studied ghosts and might be able to deduce something the doctor's obviously can't. I'll head there straight away."

Grinding to a halt when Jack realized I was talking at the last minute during his rant, he sputtered, "_Well actually we're on our way home since there's nothing else the doctors can do right now. They gave her something to help her breathe easier and stay calm but right now she just needs rest since the doctor said she's _sleep-deprived_ again on top of what happened. We're going to have to make her curfew start an hour earlier if this keeps up since she's not supposed to stay up so late at night even to study. All we know is that Dani described what happened to her as feeling like she almost drowned and her voice was...turned into a flower or something. I have no idea what that even means but then again Dani was a bit dazed when we asked her all these questions. Anyways, just meet us at the house if you can and I'm sure she'd feel better knowing you're there to help us."_

"Of course, I'll do everything in my power to help," I promised, already processing the little information he gave me to try and figure out if there was a ghost in my lore books with the ability to steal a person's voice. "At any rate please inform Maddie that I am on my way."

_"Will do Vladdy, and thanks again!"_ After that Jack hung up which was a relief since I really didn't want to listen to his obnoxious voice any longer than I had to and more importantly Danielle needed my help...

I'm sure she wasn't going to be happy when I saw her since Danielle has been feeling this overwhelming sense of incompetence and failure ever since I saved her from Freakshow. It was understandable given how willful and stubborn she was. But Danielle is so desperate to preserve her hero status no matter the cost to protect her loved ones that the responsibility of it all was starting to weigh heavily on her shoulders.

And sadly, regardless of how many times I've told her that she doesn't have to prove anything to me, Danielle just won't listen. I've become someone else whose expectations Danielle wants to live up to to feel like all this hardship is worth anything. But she's suffering needlessly! They don't deserve her selflessness or kindness, sometimes I wonder if I do either. Not that it stops me from wanting Danielle in my life or wanting to use everything I have at my disposal to ensure her happiness and safety.

And if it was something I didn't have, I would either find it-

-or TAKE it.

* * *

During the drive there since I took my limo just to buy myself time to think I read the message from Danielle but it turns out that Samson wrote it in her stead since they rushed her to the hospital when Danielle was having difficulty breathing and she barely had enough time to hand him her phone since he didn't have my number for good reason. As loathe as I am to admit it, for her sake, maybe I should open some sort of line of communication between myself and Danielle's...friends just in case something like this happened where Danielle herself couldn't contact me herself. Either way, the message told me about as much as Jack had since she wasn't able to explain anything to Samson in her condition.

All it said was that Danielle's teacher kicked her out of class for oversleeping again, she got snippy with her, then left. But when it started taking a little too long he made an excuse to leave class and found her gasping for air, clutching her throat in ghost form. Then she transformed back just before class ended and the vice Principle, this Mr. Lancer, came to find her when she didn't make it to the office and thought she was having some sort of asthma attack or something and called 911 while Samson helped carry Danielle to the nurses office where she nearly passed out from lack of oxygen. They wouldn't let him go with her to the hospital for obvious reasons but they called Jack and Maddie to let them know what was going on but Sam explained that this was definitely related to a ghost, he just never saw it himself or had the chance to ask Danielle anything else before they drove off in the ambulance.

At least Danielle had the good sense to admit to her parents that this affliction was, in fact, real and didn't try to hide it given the severity of the effects this ghost had on her when they stole her voice. I could think of a few ghosts who might want to do this to her, namely Ember Mclain, and yet it seemed unlikely that she had figured out a way to steal Danielle's voice given that she uses a guitar as her weapon of choice according to Danielle.

No, if this was her doing she'd either need some sort of device or artifact capable of removing Danielle's voice entirely and not just damaging it somehow. And knowing her background, Ember seemed more like the type to do something like that just to spite Danielle temporarily rather than make herself a bigger target for our ghost-catching hero given how poorly her last encounter with the infamous ghost girl went...

Whatever the case may be, I was going to resolve this matter quickly for Danielle's sake because losing one's voice can be a frightening experience. You don't realize the difficulty that comes with being unable to speak, I should know, I actually lost mine for a while after screaming in agony for several days when the doctors tried a new treatment on me to supposedly cure the ecto-acne I was suffering from. Those fools had no clue how to counteract those toxins in my skin since a certain someone neglected to mention it to them when I was admitted in the first place!

Honestly, I'm glad I have a heat-based core of sorts now because for days it felt like my skin was ablaze and the hot flashes were unbearable, even now I shudder at the memory. But more than that, being unable to tell my doctors anything myself only made matters worse so I had to wait and drink lots of fluids before I took it upon myself to just give in and tell them myself that we were working with an untested 'radioactive' type of fuel and tried to give them as much information as I could without admitting it was related to anything supernatural.

Regardless, I didn't want Danielle to have to deal with this any longer than she had to since it was going to make life unbearable I'm sure. Especially if they forced her to go to school like this and her fellow students started teasing her for becoming mute. I, on the other hand, wouldn't mind keeping Danielle to myself for a while since there was something I wanted to try. And maybe this would help her too, provided it wasn't just superstition and hearsay.

You see, during my absence I've been pouring over any and all lore books I could find regarding ghostly artifacts and more importantly, the rare bond between soulmates and what that means to a ghost; but given that we were only half ghost it might mean something a bit more different. But what we did know is that several times already our unique bond has awoken powers we never knew we had when we're together, like that pure energy that seemed to resonate with our souls, not our ghost cores.

Then there's that time I overshadowed Danielle briefly, ignoring the possible risks, and ever since then I've felt a stronger attachment to her to the point that when her emotions are especially strong it's almost as if I can sense that. It has helped me find the exact words I need to say to put her mind at ease. The only time it doesn't work is when she conceals her heart from me which makes sense. However, in time I hoped that even I would have no reason to hide anything from her anymore. I wanted Danielle to know me, all of me, even the parts I felt were still ugly because she makes me feel like there's at least one person in this wretched world that cares enough to accept every part of who I am.

I was a little lost in thought when we abruptly arrived at Fenton Works sooner than I anticipated, and even from here I could sense Danielle's unease so I wasted no time dismissing my driver for now after exiting the sleek black vehicle and begin making my way to the front door. I almost audibly sighed in relief when I saw that it was Jason, not Jack, who came and answered the door then smiled sadly as he ushered me inside. To tell the truth I really didn't want to have to listen to that oaf's harebrained ideas right now on how to get his daughter's voice back. I would much rather fix this unfortunate mess myself.

After briefly explaining what happened to his sister as far as they know, Jason told me that his mother tried to reassure Danielle earlier and promised that they would fix this, but she was still very irritable that this happened at all and she didn't bother trying to write down a response. Taking the hint Maddie mercifully decided to trick Jack into helping her make dinner so that they could at least get started on it before I arrived. And Jack did say they hoped I would have better luck making her feel better. I had to resist the urge to smile mischievously because I could think of many ways to make Danielle forget her troubles, although now was hardly the time nor place.

Either way, after telling them I was there I asked if it was alright if I tried to cheer Danielle up and they happily agreed since thus far I have been nothing short of a miracle worker with their daughter. I saved her life not once, but twice and at this rate, they were seriously considering the idea of making me their children's Godfather should something ever happen to them. That and when I was here she seemed able to focus more on her studies.

If it were not for my romantic feelings for Danielle, I would have relished the thought of being given such an important role in their lives, especially since it would have given me a legitimate reason to take Danielle under my wing. As for Jason, truth be told even if something did happen to their parents since he's already 18 he would have no reason for me to become his Godfather. In fact, he was already set to graduate high school and begin college in earnest before too long. In fact, if it wasn't for his concern for his sister Jason would have already begun his first semester of college at this very moment. Truly, his brotherly devotion to Danielle was touching and quite admirable, and personally I'm glad that someone in this family has the good sense to pay attention long enough to realize how much Danielle is struggling to find herself and figure out where her future will lead which I'm hoping will lead her into my arms...

* * *

I knocked gently on the door to her room to be polite even though I had a feeling she had already sensed my arrival too which would explain why Danielle was pointedly staring at the wall, stubbornly hugging a pillow close to her chest and glowering. No doubt she was berating herself for failing to stop this ghost from getting away with this and felt like a failure. Her eyes were red and puffy but she had used the pillow in front of her to dry her eyes since Danielle refused to cry about this, tears wouldn't fix it, and yet her anger was almost strong enough to feel like her ghostly aura which wasn't good, especially since it was making her eyes glow bright green like they always seemed too when she was especially emotional.

Even so, I've dealt with this behavior from her before so after making sure we wouldn't be disturbed I sat down on the bed and rest a hand on her shoulder, explaining softly, "Your friend Samson told me what happened more or less and your parents contacted me as well. I assume they told you I was back in town even though I was going to surprise you at dinner tonight. At any rate, if you're not ready to explain the rest of what happened yourself that's alright. Can you at least nod and let me know if you're doing alright? I heard they made you go to the hospital."

Danielle's shoulders tensed when I mentioned the hospital, but thankfully she decided against trying to hide her true feelings from me and shook her head no to indicate that she wasn't alright. Whether that meant Danielle wasn't feeling well physically or emotionally I wasn't sure yet. After that I asked if there was anything I could do and she shook her head again, hugging the pillow tighter and curling in on herself. At least, that's what Danielle clearly wanted to do but as usual, she seemed to relax more in my presence and before long her eyes faded from a shimmering green to their soft sky blue color, which spared me a brief glance before looking away shamefully.

Smiling softly, I brushed my thumb over her shoulder and whispered lovingly, "I've missed you, Danielle, I hope you know that. I know this isn't how you wanted to be seen but it's going to be alright. I'm here now."

Sighing heavily, Danielle's shoulders dropped but she released the death grip she had on her pillow so she could curl her fingers around my hand to let me know that she missed me too. But then her gaze became distant and forlorn which was understandable given the current situation. Danielle was clearly thinking the same thing I was. How was she supposed to fight ghosts like this when she couldn't communicate with her friends who've been helping her hunt them up until now? It wasn't as though they were going to stop because she was on a 'sick leave' of sorts. If anything, once word got out that Dani Phantom was under the weather they might grow even bolder and cause a ruckus.

With a sigh of my own, I decided to make this easy for her and said, "I know what you're thinking Danielle and no, I don't think it's a good idea for you to try fighting like this. That's not what you want to hear I'm sure but hear me out. Until this is resolved, since Skulker loves hunting ghosts anyway, I'll give him the task of keeping as many other ghostly pests away from here until we recover your voice. With any luck, someone he catches might know something. Until then, I'll make sure this town doesn't fall apart while you rest, alright?"

Glancing up at me unsurely, Danielle finally nodded and tried to smile but she couldn't muster the energy to and instead gave my hand a light squeeze before exhaling loudly and closing her eyes, trying to unwind more for my sake since she didn't want me to worry. "Try to get some rest Danielle," I whispered, my gaze softening when Danielle pulled my hand closer to her, clearly comforted by my familiar warmth.

Then, I leaned over to kiss her temple and continued softly, "I'll stay here with you until you fall asleep, then I suppose I should make sure whatever your father has planned doesn't involve interrogating every student in Casper High to see if any of them saw this voice thief of yours. But I have some good news for you when you wake up so, there's something to look forward to for once hmm? Oh, and speaking of your father I'll try to keep him quiet for you. Wish me luck."

Now that managed to make her smile a little before the tension slowly evaporated her shoulders and her breathing became a little more rhythmic. And yet the entire time, Danielle's grip on my hand never loosened. Despite the troubling circumstances that brought me here to her side once again Danielle was relieved that I was here by her side. Little did she know, however, that from here on out I wasn't going to leave her side ever again if I could help it.


	5. Reunited

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **I'm going to borrow an idea from season 3 about overshadowing people's dreams because it's not so different from overshadowing a computer and Vlad's a smart guy, he'd figure out he can do that right? I mean unlike the Vlad in the show, this one actually risked overshadowing the only other halfa in the world and it worked without any major drawbacks or side effects. Although this time it's mostly the added bonus of Danielle being his soulmate that makes this even possible. Basically, they're already bonded so she doesn't usually feel the need to reject his presence right away like she would any other ghost that tried to take over her mind or body. Anyways, here ya go, another chapter!

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Chapter 5: Reunited

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Danielle's POV

After I fell asleep I had the most bizarre dream; or maybe some part of me was still connected to my voice because the first thing I noticed in the dream was that I could hear myself singing in the distance while the real me was standing on top of a glassy smooth lake that spread out as far as they eye could see in every direction like an ocean. The strangest part though was that the sky above was dark and stormy but didn't seem to effect the water at all, it stayed perfectly still even when I started following the sound of my own voice. And the closer I came to the source where my voice was echoing across the water, the darker it became until I couldn't see a thing and stopped.

"Great...now what am I supposed to-?!" I said to myself without thinking and then gasped because, well, I actually said it aloud! With a puzzled expression, I rubbed my throat and mused, "Huh, so I guess I can still talk normally in my dreams. That's great and all but doesn't help me out there much..."

Looking around, I spotted a small glimmer of light on the water and decided to walk towards it. It started with one light but then I could see others spreading from the same place and they began illuminating the darkness. That's when I started to hear new voices whispering and crying out and then...I saw exactly where all the light was coming from. It was coming from dozens of the same water lilies that ghost created or used to steal my voice. I felt my heart clench when I saw just how many of them there were and all of them had pale glowing veins of almost every color you can imagine but the white of the flower drowned it out.

Just how many other people has she done this to?!

__...please, I didn't mean it when I said I never want to speak to him again...__

__...they never listened to what I had to say, and now they can't hear my voice at all because of HER...__

__...don't let her take it from you...__

__...drown out her voice, don't listen to the lies...__

__...why do my prayers still go unanswered, why...?__

There were so many voices, some of them directly calling out to me and begging for help while others loudly expressing their anger about their voices being stolen and others just cried hopelessly to themselves as their flower floated away from me. At this point, I couldn't even hear my stolen voice anymore now that I was surrounded by all of these strange glowing flowers. After a while, I decided I needed to get away from the sound when all of a sudden I was dropped into the water when the surface rippled and I quickly started falling into the darkness. I knew this feeling all too well and I wasn't about to let this dream or anyone drag me down there without a fight so once I righted myself I started swimming back up to the surface.

But no matter how hard I swam, the lights from the flowers and the whispering grew more and more distant until I gave up and was now the only thing glowing in the murky darkness. At least I could breathe, or maybe I didn't have to because this was a dream. I was mulling over what to do next when I heard Vlad's voice calling my name in the distance.

Turning, I tried to figure out which direction it came from but it was like it was coming towards me from all of them. Was this some kind of trick? Or was it part of the dream? Then again maybe Vlad was trying to wake me up in the real world which made more sense. Besides, all those voices I heard that this ghost stole were female, there wasn't a single male voice among them so this couldn't be her doing...

Closing my eyes, I was about to let the darkness take me this time so the dream could end and I could wake up, but then they snapped open when a familiar pair of arms wrapped around me and I gasped, turning around to see Vlad smiling at me with an oddly pleased sparkle in his eyes. "It worked, I can't believe it..."

"What worked? Vlad, how did you get here?" I asked, confused.

Nuzzling my cheek Vlad held me tighter and sighed, "Oh thank goodness, you can still talk in your dreams. I wasn't sure how deeply this spell or whatever it is had affected you."

"Wait a minute..." I blushed, realization dawning on me that if this was the real Vlad then that meant- "What are you doing my head?!"

Laughing softly at my reaction, Vlad explained, "Dreams are gateways to the subconscious Danielle, and like any portal, there are ways to get to the other side especially for ghosts. Now, don't be alarmed but I'm currently overshadowing your dream because I was hoping that we might be able to communicate more directly like this. And it would seem that my theory was correct. However, I can only do this as long as you stay asleep. Sadly if I tried this while you were awake I would end up taking over your body normally."

"Yeah, and we wouldn't want that..." I laughed nervously, waiting until Vlad let his arms drop from my shoulders before I turned to face him, rubbing my arm sheepishly. "Vlad, I'm...really sorry you had to come all the way back here only to see me like this and fix another problem of mine. But I'm telling you, it all happened so fast and I couldn't stop her no matter how hard I tried! She was acting all coy about what she wanted and then suddenly my body felt super heavy like I was miles underwater with the pressure pushing down on me like a ton of bricks. And THEN I couldn't breathe and she made it sound like she was doing me a favor by stealing my voice."

Glancing up at the small pricks of light above us where the lilies were floating aimlessly on top of the water, I continued angrily, "When she stole my voice it ended up inside some kind of a water lily with glowing veins and then I'm not really sure but it looked like she swallowed a glowing seed or something so she could use my voice instead of the one she was originally talking to me with. Oh, and in my dream just now before you showed up I saw dozens of other flowers just like it floating on the water and heard them talking to me. Several of them told me she did the exact same thing to them, stole their voices because no one was listening to them or they said something they regretted. I mean sure I kinda regretted getting snippy with my 2nd-period teacher, but I was annoyed because she slammed a book on my desk and scared the shit out me instead of just shaking me like a normal person! I'm lucky that the shock of being woken up like that didn't make me reflexively go ghost! And to top it all off Mrs. Aston was a jerk about it and sent me to-"

"Danielle, it's alright. I understand but you need to slow down a bit my dear," Vlad said softly, cupping his hands on my cheeks as he pressed his forehead to mine, "This is a dream. Time doesn't exist here so there's plenty of time for you to explain everything to me. Now, take a deep breathe and calm down then tell me exactly what happened. Did you catch her name? Did she have any distinct features or say anything noteworthy? Something she said might prove useful in figuring out what sort of ghost she is."

Melting into his touch and feeling reassured by his voice, I did as he asked and then told Vlad, "Well, I never caught her name but she was being really weird and cryptic about the two of us being alike and said something about sirens? But what the heck is a siren?"

Pulling away Vlad nodded and explained thoughtfully, "It depends on the myth, but usually sirens are either birdlike creatures or mermaids of a sort with voices that they use to mesmerize men and lead sailors to their deaths when they crash into the rocky shores. That doesn't seem to be the case here unless she uses these voices to seduce men after picking one that suits their _'type.'_ Honestly, it seems more likely to me that she is actually a banshee, a ghost with no voice of her own that attacks with sound waves to either charm or cause extreme pain. That would explain why she steals voices instead since she still wants to sound human and not just shriek or moan."

"OH!" I exclaimed, hitting the palm of my other hand with my fist, my eyes shining with renewed determination. "That would explain why she sounded so jealous of Ember when she mentioned her. In fact, she even called her a vixen and said she liked my voice better. And I bet you're right about her being a banshee because when I saw her she still had feet which rules out the whole being half fish part, and she definitely didn't have wings. Her eyes were so pale and silvery that they were almost pure white like a blind person and her skin was this light pastel blue, almost gray, and she had long flowing hair that floated around her face and this weird aura that made it look like she was always underwater. Hmm, so does that mean she's trying to pass off as a siren instead of a banshee...?"

"Most likely," Vlad nodded, smiling proudly at me for figuring that all out with the information he gave me and because I looked much less forlorn. "I'm glad you seem to be feeling better, Danielle. I don't like seeing you angry or upset. But I promise you, she will pay for this and we'll get your voice back as soon as possible."

"Damn right we will!" I grinned, feeling the itch to hit something very hard for dramtic effect but then I had to remind myself that this was a dream and out there I still couldn't talk and that put a slight damper on things again. "So what now? How are we supposed to find her? She disappeared into a burst of bubbles the last time I saw her; then again she DID say something about going straight back to the Ghost Zone. Ugh, I bet she's there right now _'testing out'_ my voice. God that's SO creepy. I guess as long as she doesn't start making prank phone calls with it we should be fine..."

"Now you can leave the rest to me," Vlad told me, pulling me into his arms. "But first I think you should wake up since your parents are waiting for us. I just need to leave your dream first so you don't send me flying into the nearest wall. Even I would have a hard time explaining that to Jack and Maddie. At any rate, I'll see you soon my love."

Blushing again, I hugged him too and nodded, but not before commenting, "It's still so strange hearing you say that. You make it sound like we've been together our whole lives but we've only known each other for, what, eight months maybe?"

"Oh?" Vlad chuckled, lifting my chin and gazing at me sensually, "Then what would you rather have me call you my dear?"

"It doesn't matter I guess as long as you stop calling me little badger, you damn fruitloop," I teased, yanking him forward to give him a kiss before he could recover from the shock of me being so bold with him.

I was not disappointed when Vlad passionately kissed me back. It took every ounce of willpower I had left to break the kiss, putting a finger to his lips before I said breathlessly, "I know I won't be able to say it again out loud once I wake up but...I love you, Vlad. And thanks for coming here to help me again. Just promise me you won't go ghost-killing again, alright? She may have stolen my voice, but apart from that I'm not hurt or anything that serious. I mean feel free to scare the shit out of her but don't do anything too crazy this time."

His expression became carefully blank, although Vlad couldn't help but hungrily gaze down at my lips looking like he wanted nothing more than to kiss me again, and then he sighed heavily, "Very well my dear, I promise I will reclaim your voice and do nothing more. However, if she tries to kill me though then I WILL reciprocate. At any rate, I love you too Danielle. And I'll see you very soon..."

And with that, his image flickered until Vlad vanished completely and I could tell he wasn't inside my dream anymore. His absence made the water around me in my dream seem so much colder, but I shook my head because it didn't matter. I've finally told him my side of the story and as long as he keeps his word this time about not going overboard then there wouldn't be a problem. No, the only problem I had to deal with now, was having no voice again.

* * *

Vlad's POV

I didn't have to wait long for Danielle to come to after I left her dreams and turned human again; it was such a surreal experience and part of me wonders why her dreams seem to echo some of her experiences with certain ghosts. For instance, when Freakshow was controlling her it created a bond between them through his foul blood magic which allowed her to see the moment of his death in her nightmares and then later when Freakshow himself became a ghost he, in turn, invaded her dreams. And now, after this banshee or whatever sort of ghost she was stole Danielle's voice, in her dreams just now she was able to tap into that and hear the voices of others that had been stolen in a similar fashion.

Did this have something to do with the rare power we had as soulmates that allowed us to tap into each other's emotions...? Was Danielle somehow using it to connect herself to these other ghosts who interfere with her a little too closely? Well, we certainly couldn't have that...

The only one meant to be close to her was me.

Brushing her hair back as Danielle blearily opened her eyes, she sat up and was about to call out to me but stopped and sighed, remembering that she couldn't speak outside of her dreams at the moment. But at least Danielle didn't look too upset about it which was a relief and I stepped back while she stretched a bit, secretly admiring her shapely form since she really was filling out nicely from all the ghost fighting she's been doing.

But when Danielle caught me staring at her, I gave her a coy smile and didn't even bother hiding the fact that I was enjoying the view. Rolling her eyes Danielle picked up the notebook on her desk and using a blue sharpie, she wrote out the words, **'Would you mind seeing if dinner is ready?'**

"Ah that's right," I mused, going along with her obvious diversion, "You wound up in the hospital before you had the chance to eat lunch didn't you?" She nodded and sat back down on the bed which reminded me that I promised her father I'd give her a brief medical exam. And so I stood in front of Danielle and asked, "That reminds me, would you mind if I took a moment to examine your throat? And no I don't mean anything else by that I promise. Jack asked me to see if I could find anything...ghostly about your condition since I've obviously had experience with that sort of thing myself."

Shooting me a skeptical look when I made that other flirtatious comment, Danielle rolled her eyes again and nodded, sitting down on her bed again and waiting patiently while I brought the chair over from her computer desk to use. I didn't have any medical equipment with me but I could try to feel for any abnormal swelling and listen for any odd rasping noises when she breathed in. Meanwhile, Danielle didn't even realize she was showing complete trust in me by openly exposing her throat to me, which was a very vulnerable place that sadly I've held her up by before when I didn't realize who she was.

I inwardly frowned at the memory since I would never dream of hurting Danielle now and maybe she was remembering it too because I could feel her shutter a few times when I placed my fingers on either side and applied a little pressure to check for swelling. I couldn't feel anything unnatural at first but when I decided to try something with my ghost powers instead and sent a small pulse of my electrical ghost energy through her and suddenly Danielle's throat flashed with a small red light and she hissed in pain.

Concerned, I pulled my hands away and apologized meekly, "I'm sorry, I should have warned you before I did that. Does it hurt?"

Swallowing slowly to test how she felt, Danielle rubbed her throat a few times before she started scribbling on her notepad and showed me what she wrote which read, '**It stung a little bit but the feeling didn't last long, I'm alright**.**'**

"That's a relief. At any rate, I found out all that I need to for now so I'll be back shortly. I'm sure you'd much rather eat in your room since you're not feeling well so I'll convince them to go easy on you and let you rest. As for school, well, I'd be more than happy to tutor you again now that I've officially moved into the mansion. You know, you visited once before? I'm living there now," as soon as I finished saying this the look on her face was priceless as Danielle beamed up at me and words could have hardly expressed her joy and the relief she felt when Danielle flew out of her seat and hugged me tightly.

Clearly, the news made Danielle very happy for more than one reason, one of them being she didn't have to suffer through this trial alone like so many others up until now. With an overflowing feeling of love, I eagerly hugged her back, basking in Danielle's familiar scent that soothed my troubled heart as well. I've missed holding her in my arms like this, her cool skin brushing against mine. That's why once this latest mess was taken care of, I was greatly looking forward to showing Danielle the depths of my affection. In fact, I could hardly contain it right now because her happiness was contagious and made me never want to leave this room. She had no idea how tempted I was earlier to prolong my visit to her dreams just to ravish her with kisses and soft tender caresses, but I knew that now was hardly the time for such things. Even so, that meant the sooner I could fix this, the sooner Danielle and I could celebrate our reunion properly, and privately, at my mansion...


	6. Secrets

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

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Chapter 6: Secrets

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Danielle's POV

Without my voice, it took the whole _'eating in silence'_ expression to a whole new level during dinner. Vlad seemed perfectly alright with it as he sat across from me since my parents insisted that we try to have a _'normal'_ dinner after all to keep my spirits up. And surprisingly my dad wasn't acting as overly excited as he usually does when Vlad comes to visit since everyone was worried about me. Mom was being very professional about all this though, especially when Vlad told them some of his theories about what kind of ghost might have done this to me just to give them something to distract themselves with to help me while he did all real work, so to speak.

As for me, I was feeling a bit conflicted because even though I wanted Vlad to help me get out of this mess I also wanted to do something about this myself. Either that or work WITH him to get my voice back. I mean he DID say this ghost lady might be able to use some kind of siren-like power to mesmerize him with her weirdo magic so what if Vlad got hurt or something worse happened to him while I wasn't there to keep him from falling under her spell like I did with Freakshow? The very thought of that venomous snake touching Vlad against his will made my skin crawl because he was not hers to mess with. And yes I know Vlad is stronger than me and smart, but it didn't stop me from worrying about some temptress getting into his head in spite of all that...

Vlad noticed I was making a strange face while thinking about that and raised an eyebrow at me but I just shrugged and shook my head to let him know I wasn't thinking about anything serious. Still, dinner couldn't be over with fast enough in my opinion. But it was pretty nice that there was actually plenty to go around for once even with dad taking several helpings of everything mom put on the table. This is why we rarely had leftovers because dad would eat those too and there was very little risk of food ever going bad in our house. Except maybe what was up in the Op-center since they didn't go there nearly as often as the lab and sometimes, even though it wasn't allowed, I would sneak up there with Trish and Sam to make SURE no one could bother us, including my brother.

When we were in the hospital I was understandably very nervous since I didn't like being examined even before I became half-ghost. I knew they wouldn't find anything that would help them figure out why I couldn't talk. The risk was that they'd do all the normal check-ups and then find something funky with my body temperature or my blood. The same thing happened when they had to call a doctor when I had an allergic reaction to the sedative Vlad gave me, well, I mean I was worried about the same thing happening then too.

While we were in the examination room, Jace could tell I was trying super hard not to start freaking out so he held my hand and gave it a squeeze every time the doctor turned away to jot something down or grab another examination tool. It took our parents longer to get there since they had to de-tangle themselves from some big project they were working on, but since my brother is technically a legal adult they let him ride with me when Sam couldn't.

I'm glad he was there for me when Vlad and my parents couldn't be, and yet...the look on Jace's face was really angry for some reason the whole time we were riding in the ambulance. That anger wasn't directed at me but this situation clearly bothered him even after Sam rushed to explain that a ghost did this to me. The way he was acting almost made me feel like Jace knew I was doing something dangerous and he was angry that I was being so reckless and ended up like this because he wasn't there to stop me. I could be imagining it but for some reason, I couldn't shake this feeling that Jace knew more about what I've been up to then he was letting on.

* * *

Once dinner was over Vlad pulled my parents aside to talk to them some more as a concerned _'friend'_ and then Jace pulled me aside too. It was unexpected to say the least when my older brother suddenly dragged me upstairs after loudly declaring that we were going to be in his room if they needed us for anything. I just barely had enough time to give Vlad a confused look before we were both dragged off in different directions. My parents pulled him down into the lab to figure out some ghost mambo-jumbo while my brother dragged me upstairs and sat me down on the edge of his bed, looking dead serious.

"Alright, enough is enough Dani. This is starting to get out of hand and I've kept silent about it ever since I found out the truth but we need to talk. Well, I mean, you need to listen to what I have to say since you can't talk and- ugh sorry just...hold on a second. I'll go grab your notepad." He sighed, shooting me a warning look that told me to stay put if I knew what was good for me then Jace went to visit my room real quick and gave my notebook to me.

Crossing his arms Jason took a deep breath and decided not to confuse me with an overly complicated explanation as usual and he told me rather bluntly, "Dani, I know your secret. And before you start panicking I want you to know that honestly, I don't care how it happened, and I don't expect you to stop doing what you do, but you HAVE to start being more careful. Letting a ghost steal your voice is only going to make our parents suspicious and I don't want them or Vlad finding out you're half-ghost too because it will only complicate things."

I stared at him in shock, a million questions running through my head but the biggest of them was HOW the actual HELL did Jace find out?! I've been so careful about hiding whenever I transform so no one who knows me sees me change forms! Biting my lip and looking at my brother again just to make sure he was serious about this and wasn't fishing for answers because he only suspected I was half-ghost, my shoulders slumped and I wrote down **'How long have you known?'**

His eyes softening since Jace wasn't trying to scare me by telling me he knew my secret, he sat down beside me, wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and sighed, "Since the Spectra thing. You were upset and I was worried about you after you run off so I followed. But then you suddenly just...changed right in front of me and flew off. At first, I didn't know what to think because even with all the weirdness at our school I wasn't ready to believe ghosts were real. But even I can't ignore all the evidence. I've seen you around a few times as this _'Dani Phantom'_ and you're always protecting and helping people which would explain why you're always running off somewhere or you can barely stay awake in class. Listen, I may not know how long you've been doing this exactly, but this isn't the first time a ghost has put you in serious danger. I mean you were almost kidnapped by one once!"

I nodded but waited for him to continue and when he did, Jace gave my shoulder an affectionate squeeze and said, "Dani, I'm not going to lie, the real reason I stayed in school for an extra year wasn't just to get more credits before I apply for college, I did it so I could make sure you were going to be alright once I left. But now, since I won't always be here to protect you, I feel like I should come out and tell you that I'm here for you no matter what you are or who you've become and I want you to promise me you'll be much more careful from now on if you plan to keep fighting ghosts. Vlad's been doing a good job so far of keeping you safe but even he can't keep this up forever. And as much as I trust him it might not be a good idea to tell Vlad what you are in case he's anything like our parents. I doubt it but we can't be too careful."

I had to resist the urge to laugh because little did Jace know that not only did Vlad already know my secret, but he was half-ghost too. Since it wasn't my secret to tell though I kept quiet about it. But Vlad did need to know that my brother knew about me at least and maybe he could give me some advice on what I should do about it. Maybe I should talk to Sam and Trish too to see if they knew anything about my brother finding out because I'll admit, during that time Jason was talking about I was totally off my A-game since Spectra kept making me feel so irritated and like a loser, a failure, and the way it felt like my brother was poking at my wounds didn't exactly help improve my foul mood.

Either way, since I wasn't sure exactly what to do about this just yet, I decided to switch gears and ask him a question instead and wrote **'You're not mad about me lying to you this whole time, are you?'**

"No," Jace sighed, pushing down my notepad after I held it up to him so he could read that. "I know you had a good reason to keep the truth from me, especially from mom and dad. But even if I knew you were half-ghost from the start, that you've been fighting ghosts, and I told you not to for your own safety I know better than that. You'd still keep fighting ghosts behind my back regardless even knowing how dangerous it is."

Smiling, Jace continued, "You're a good person Dani and even when no one thanks you for it or notices how much you've done for them you're always taking care of other people to the point where you end up forgetting to take care of yourself. That's why I was so happy when Vlad started helping you and you finally started relying on someone other than me when you need help. But since this is my last year of school with you, I want to help you more now that I know there's more going on in your life than I realized. So if there's anything I can do to help, will you promise to tell me? Obviously, I don't mean like fighting or anything, but I can do research and stuff."

_That's...actually a good point. Maybe he can help me with something right now before Vlad comes back!_ I thought to myself.

After that, I beamed at him and started doodling a picture of what that banshee ghost looked like. I also added little dash marks so I could add a few notes to describe some of the other features I couldn't show him with a sharpie drawing. And once Jace took a good look at it, I pointed to my question at the bottom that read '**You wouldn't happen to know anything about banshee's, would you? Because I think that's the kind of ghost that stole my voice...'**

* * *

The nice part of Vlad being stuck downstairs with my parents is that it gave Jason and I some time to do some research of our own and it was surprisingly easy to work with him. Not to mention it was a huge relief that he didn't see me as some kind of freak. To him, I was still the same little sister he grew up with and looked after pretty much my whole life when our parents were too wrapped up in their ghost hunting and inventing.

Obviously, Jace was curious about what I could do but that would have to wait until I got my voice back so I could explain how my powers worked. Still, overprotective or not, I felt lucky to have a brother like him. He was curious but not pushy, attentive but not judgy as often as our parents were, and most of all Jace made me feel like there was at least one person in this family that cared if I existed in a world that wasn't remotely ghost-related.

Anyways, we found out a lot more than I expected us to about banshee's because it turns out that their kind are from Ireland and are normally considered either ghosts or fairies. As far as I could tell though, those voices she stole were all taken from people who didn't want to talk anymore, even if it was for only a moment, which seemed to be unrelated to what any of the folklore about her kind. And given what happened to me I had a strong feeling that she couldn't use more than one voice at a time, which meant that if she wanted to try a new one she would have to replace it with another. So maybe, if we could trick her into trying to steal a new voice that was _'better'_ than mine I could get it back by finding the right flower. She seemed to like the voices of talented singers especially so if she was secretly jealous of Ember's voice, then maybe we could-

Startled by a sudden knock on the door Jace closed the web page we were looking at while I hastily ripped out the pages of my notebook with the banshee drawing and ghost-related stuff written on it and tossed them into his trash can which was already overflowing with papers since he was working on some kind of report. I was half-expecting it to be Vlad at the door which is why I didn't want him knowing I was planning something too as far as getting my voice back, but thankfully it was just our mom.

She gave us a curious look when we both gave her an innocent smile that children usually give their parents while hiding something. But she decided to ignore our odd reaction and told us to come downstairs since Vlad had something to tell us. After exchanging a slightly worried look with my brother, we followed mom downstairs. I wasn't too worried about what he had to say since Vlad was probably just going to do his usual thing to convince my parents to let me stay at his place again until this smoothed over.

Truth be told, I was kind of excited by the idea of spending quality time with Vlad again in a more private setting, despite the situation I was in, but I didn't let it show. Not yet anyway. He was very good at getting my parents on his side since dad practically worshiped the ground he walked on and mom thought he was the best uncle we could possibly ask for after Vlad found out where Freakshow had taken me when I was kidnapped and he returned me home safely.

However, I was shocked when Vlad said the exact opposite of what I expected him to say and my jaw dropped. "Alright, now that everyone is here I would like to explain what we're going to be doing in light of young Danielle's latest predicament. As you may already know, I have a lot more experience with ghosts of a more...mythical nature than Jack and Maddie and since I believe this ghost was, in fact, a banshee I will be personally taking responsibility for capturing this ghost in order to reclaim Danielle's voice."

Turning towards my brother and me, Vlad explained bluntly, "As for you two, since your house and the school seem to be big targets of these hauntings your parents have decided that it would be best that you stay with me for a while. I'll have tutor visit us so that neither of you will fall behind on your studies. Simply put, Jason, Danielle, you will both be staying with me for your own safety. At least until we've located this voice thief."

_Vlad, what are you planning this time? I know why you want me to stay with you but why are you dragging my brother along too? Are you hoping he'll stop me from sneaking off to help you get my voice back? Pfft, nice try buddy,_ I snickered to myself, already coming up with a plan in my head so I could keep an eye on Vlad to make sure HE didn't sneak off to the Ghost Zone without me.

Before this, I had made up my mind that I was going to obediently stay behind and trust that Vlad would take care of this mess. But now, the fact that he was hiding using my brother as cover so he could keep me from following after him, well it only made me want to go into the Ghost Zone even more. There was clearly something else going on here, something that Vlad didn't want me to know about, I could feel it...

And I aimed to find out what it was, one way, or another!

* * *

**Note: **Since I'm going to be ignoring most of the remaining episodes from the show that have to do with Vlad being the bad guy, that means that sadly I also don't plan to make an alternate future Danielle that's evil like in the original _"Ultimate Enemy"_ episode. I already did something sort of like that when Freakshow was controlling her but nothing that complex. Anyways the point I'm trying to make is that based on what I did keep in, Jason/Jasmine already knows Danielle is half-ghost after the first Spectra incident but hasn't said anything. And since I'm not recreating the events of that episode, I'm giving Jazz's genderbent version another reason to talk about it. Ironic, given that Danielle's in no position to really explain herself. All Jason knows is that she's been fighting ghosts in secret as the heroine Dani Phantom and he's worried about her. And because of all the changes, this also means that Jason won't be running away from home to trick Vlad into spilling any secrets like the original did because, in this story, Danny/Danielle and Vlad aren't enemies.


	7. Ostensible

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **To _"GiselleVera"_ I don't want to spoil anything but let's just say the banshee has other uses for Danielle's stolen voice other than what you'd expect. Since the story has changed I want to give Danielle a sort of...alternate version of the Ghostly Wail that the original Danny learns how to use after defeating his future evil self. A banshee ghost could do a lot of damage with that. Sadly, learning how to control that sort of power takes time, time that neither of them have so it might make the fight a little easier. Only a little though. Anyways, I want to resolve this banshee thing soon so we can move on and hopefully I can manage that in the next chapter. Wish me luck! Also, to _"freegirl333" _don't worry, the banshee is going to get what's coming to her that's hopefully better than a second death but you'll see what I mean later!

**P.S. **The site did something weird so I had to repost the chapter. It's still not updating the date I posted it but whatever. These things happen...

* * *

Chapter 7: Ostensible

(Chapter inspired by Confident by Demi Lovato)

* * *

Vlad's POV

An unexpected opportunity presented itself when I was discussing matters with Danielle's parents and I would have been a fool to ignore it. When we were discussing what was to be done to help their daughter and I explained to them that I was planning on developing drones to scan readings in the Ghost Zone which might help us locate this witch's lair, they happily offered to let me borrow the schematics for their Spector Speeder which was already equipped with exactly what I needed. Of course, if they hadn't offered I was planning to steal the plans anyway for my personal use to do the very same thing before returning them but thankfully there was no longer a reason for that.

Obviously, I hardly needed such a vehicle since I was half-ghost and already familiar with a vast expanse of the Ghost Zone but it never hurt to have a backup plan as well as a good cover story to explain how I managed to safely lure that banshee out so we could recover Danielle's voice. Not to mention if they would allow me to borrow the vehicle itself that would stop Danielle from borrowing it to follow after me once I left on my journey. It might take a bit more convincing but I'm sure I could get her parents to agree to let me...

Regardless, I didn't want her to be left alone while I was searching for the wretched ghost that stole my darling Danielle's melodious voice. That's when, while I was still thinking of various ways to keep her out of trouble, I was taken aback when her brother Jason pulled her aside rather abruptly once dinner was over. And that's when his actions gave me the brilliant idea of using him to keep her occupied. She trusted her brother with everything else aside from her secret, so having young Jason watch over Danielle seemed like the perfect solution!

Not only that, but it was unlikely to arouse as much suspicion from her once I explained that he would be staying with us for his own safety as well. After that, Danielle's kind-hearted and protective nature would take care of the rest for me. She was understandably shocked and admitted looked a bit upset at the news since Danielle wanted to spend some alone time with me as much as I wanted to with her but there would be plenty of time for that later. Recovering her voice was my first and only priority right now. Well, it was my top priority anyway since I had other plans for this venture as well given how I was going to the Ghost Zone either way.

I resolved myself to make this up to her eventually, but for now, I would just have to put up with Danielle's disapproving looks until I finished taking care of things. Maybe it was her condition that made me feel so troubled by the fact that Danielle was avoiding me but I didn't like the distance she was putting between us. Perhaps my plan to use Jason as an excuse for her not to use her powers openly was working a little too well because now it felt as though she was purposefully spending more time with him than with me while we were making sure they had everything they needed for their stay with me.

It pained me knowing she was upset with me for doing this, however, at one point when I tried to catch her alone for a minute or two while Danielle was packing her things I noticed her smoothing out a few crumpled up pieces of paper on her desk which she then folded and tucked away into her bag. Now that was odd, weren't those pages from the notebook Danielle was using to communicate with the rest of us...?

My suspicions that Danielle was up to something only deepened when I saw her tuck away one of her parents weapons inside her pack too which made very little sense to me given how we had our powers to keep us safe. But then I realized that Danielle probably only wanted to make sure she had a way to protect herself and her brother should something happen WITHOUT resorting to transforming and I relaxed a little after that.

Still, that didn't explain what was written on those previously discarded pages.

* * *

Once everything was settled, the trip back to the mansion was uneventful aside from Danielle's brother asking questions about why I decided to move here. On the outside, the questions seemed innocent enough but my intuition told me he was fishing for information. Not that it mattered because to me it seemed as if Jason was just wondering why I've gone to such lengths to become closer to their family ever since we met during the college reunion where I first _'saved'_ Danielle from ghosts when honestly I could have tried to reconnect with their parents much sooner.

His questions were valid I suppose, so I revealed just enough of the truth to make my reason believable. I told Danielle part of this before although the only part that was different was that I still retained some resentment for Jack, though the reason behind it wasn't the same anymore. Now, more than his foolish actions that made me what I am today and the fact that he stole my chance to be with Maddie, it was his thoughtlessness and careless actions towards his children that bothered me more now. Especially where Danielle was concerned since she was under more pressure than her brother to succeed him as the owner of Fenton Works when he and Maddie retired...

Retired from what? Tinkering with half-baked inventions they hardly used to actually fight ghosts with anyway which was their supposed job? And those very same inventions were objects they wouldn't dream of selling to the public for fear of the government stealing their secrets. Oh yes, that's quite the legacy Danielle had to live up to. But at least she was actually doing their job in secret, hunting ghosts that is, and even without many of those said inventions helping her she has far surpassed them in skill and overall reliability.

They had their moments, I'll give them that. And they cared deeply for their children. But caring and actually doing something about it to help them grow up in a stable environment were two entirely different matters. That's why for Danielle's sake most of all I happily stepped in to help ease her burden and her troubled heart. And if I do say so myself, my actions thus far have been doing wonders for not only Danielle herself, but for their family as a whole. It was more of an added bonus if anything because I could care less if Jack and Maddie were happy at this point. But making sure Danielle's smile could withstand any hardship and making sure her brother knew she was in good hands was more than enough for me.

"Vlad?" Jason asked unsurely when I got caught up in my musings instead of replying to his question.

"Ah, forgive me, I was thinking of how best to answer your last question. It's a bit...complicated," I smiled but then my gaze drifted over to Danielle who appeared to have nodded off while we were talking. Sitting through dinner even in silence must have worn the poor dear out while her mind was reeling and filled with questions about what was happening and why I was doing this when I should be trying to spend this time alone with her instead of inviting her brother along...

Not wishing to draw too much attention to her though I continued, "First of all, when I invited your parents to our 20th college reunion I thought that if we could reconcile after that terrible accident that put me in the hospital for years I would be able to let go of that resentment I felt for being abandoned by both him and your mother. All I wanted was a proper apology for what he put me through and to reconnect since we were friends once. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but then I met your sister and after hearing that Danielle had an accident similar to my own concerning a ghost portal, I felt it was only right that I share my experiences which in turn slowly helped me start to heal from that harrowing experience."

Sparing Danielle another fond glance I admitted, "I suppose that's why I took an instant liking to Danielle because by helping her, it almost felt as though I was giving the help I never received myself when I was hospitalized. I've never been married but it was always a dream of mine to have children, however, when you have money and power it is difficult to find someone who sees the man behind it all as a human being with feelings and thoughts beyond just what that wealth might be used for..."

Nodding, Jason smiled at his sister too and told me, "Yeah, Dani's a special girl that's for sure. It hasn't always been easy for us growing up, but its nice that she has someone else she can turn to when-" his smile fading, Jason reached over to gently maneuver Danielle since she was about to fall over when we began to make a turn and he let her rest her head on his lap instead of leaning against the window like she was doing a moment ago. His gaze was so warm and kind but there was a hint of turmoil hidden behind his teal colored eyes that worried me...

"What is it, my boy? You look troubled," I pointed out and Jason looked up at me sharply, his eyes narrowed and serious but not in a hostile manner.

"I know what I'm about to say isn't going to make much sense but...can you promise me something? If anything happens to me or my parents, or if you ever find out there's more to our family and to Dani than you realized, will you promise me you won't reject her no matter what?"

I nodded but let him continue regardless before making any official statements, waiting patiently as Jason continued in a low voice, "Dani is...she's very sensitive to what people think of her, and she cares about them no matter how cruel they might be sometimes. I love my parents but sometimes they tend to act the cruelest when they ignore all the good Dani's done for the people around her, including you," Snickering, Jason admitted, "When I first met you I wasn't in the best mood but I also had this impression that you were just another selfish rich guy showing off how rich and powerful you are. But when you threw your good reputation out of the window at the reunion by stepping up and fighting those ghosts targeting my sister I realized I was wrong about you. Or at the very least you were starting to change."

"Well," I chortled, "Truth be told I'm still a very selfish man. Since I don't see myself starting a family of my own any time soon I've adopted yours. That's why I've gone to such lengths to ensure your safety along with your sister's since I know your parents can handle themselves in most situations. True they get carried away at times or lose themselves in their work, but they love you both very much, if they didn't they wouldn't be putting your safety in my hands while they go off to search for traces of the ghost that stole Danielle's voice. Why she is such a prime target to these ghosts I'll never understand."

"Even so, Jason," I met his gaze and with every ounce of conviction I could muster short of telling him I was in love with Danielle, I said, "I swear to you that nothing could ever possibly change how much I care for you or your sister. You are like the children I've always wanted but could never have since I never quite found the right woman after your mother because I'll admit I used to fancy her. I bought Axion Labs which has most of the world's most advanced technology, strange I know that they'd have such a place in a remote town like Amity Park, because it is my deepest desire to utilize their resources to protect people like you and your family from the threat ghosts pose since we're one of the few places in the world that know they are, in fact, quite real..."

Clenching my fist, I ended with the declararion, "I cannot sit idly by managing my normal businesses knowing the threats that Danielle's faced in the short time I've known her. It's only a matter of time before something befalls you too and I won't allow it. If I have anything to say about it, once I've put my plans into motion...neither you nor your sister will be put in harm's way ever again."

* * *

Danielle's POV

I actually didn't mean to fall asleep on the way to Vlad's place. I was faking it while leaning against the cool glass window, hoping to hear something that might tip me off to what he was up to. But when my brother let me rest my head on his lap like he had done so many times when we were growing up while on a long car trip or I was feeling lonely I let myself relax a little too much and drifted off to sleep before I could catch myself.

I heard the first part of their conversation though, too bad I've already heard all of those things before so that was a bust. I had a plan though. Oh yeah, Vlad's not the only sneaky person around here. As soon as we got there since they thought I was still asleep my plan was to sneak out of my room and go back to our lab back at home while he was busy showing my brother around. Jace even agreed to help me keep Vlad busy even though he was worried about me gallivanting off into the Ghost Zone by myself to figure out what sort of lair this banshee had if nothing else.

I suppose I could have waited and tried to convince Vlad to let me go with him but I didn't want to risk him locking me out of his portal or rigging things so I couldn't go by telling me my brother would freak if he noticed I was missing. I was lucky I guess that I knew that Jason was on my side and knew I was half-ghost. For once, it was making my life a little bit easier since Trish and Sam couldn't cover for me at home all the time when a ghost showed up. I didn't expect Jason to do that all the time but it was a relief knowing that he was willing to and believed in me.

That made me feel better about him knowing.

Either way, after Vlad let Jace carry me to my room, I waited until the coast was clear before I put my plan into action. Grabbing the pillows off my bed I arranged them so it looked like I was still sleeping and pulled the blankets up over them so they'd have to come closer to see it wasn't me. It was childish and wasn't about to fool Vlad, I did it anyway and jotted down a note I was positive he'd find once Vlad realized I snuck out...

I was only doing this since he was purposefully keeping me out of the loop and was treating me like I was helpless but I'm not. With or without my voice or even my doubts there were still a lot of things I could do to help and I was going to prove it to him one way or another whether he liked it or not!

Once everything was ready and I was positive he wasn't close enough to sense me and transformed. I already texted Sam and Trish to let them know what was going on just in case and told them not to tell Vlad unless they had to since I left a note. Normally I would have snuck over to one of their houses to make a battle plan but there wasn't much time, plus that would take forever if I had to keep writing everything down.

I was a little nervous about doing this behind Vlad's back but then I steeled my resolve and flew right back towards Fenton Works. Thankfully Vlad convinced them to go out on patrol tonight which meant I had free access to our portal. But first, I needed to grab a few things. I haven't used this invention personally but I had a feeling the Fenton Ghost Peeler might help me separate my voice from the banshee by force if I had to since it technically wasn't part of her at all. I took a thermos too just in case even though we would already BE in the Ghost Zone instead of there being a reason for me to release her there. For all I cared this ghost could stay in the damn thing for good so she couldn't steal another poor girl's voice again.

But I wasn't going to let myself be the damsel anymore. I was going to show Vlad once and for all that I'm not helpless! I know what she is now, and I'm prepared for her tricks. So all that was left to do now was go in there, find her before Vlad did, then kick her ass to show him she just caught me off guard. It could have happened to anyone, even him. I wasn't going to wallow in self-pity anymore, I was going to act and take life by the horns and show it that I'm in charge of it...

I wanted to show Vlad that even though I wanted him to be part of my life, I didn't want him living it for me and fixing all of my mistakes to the point where it started to feel like I couldn't. I'm not the naive girl I was when we first met or the one that let Freakshow get away with nearly tearing my mind apart, I am Dani Phantom! And like Ember is always singing, I'm going to make sure everyone, including this banshee, remembers to fear my name.

They need to know that if they continue to screw around with me or my town I'm not scared of taking the fight to them...

Not anymore.


	8. Defiance

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **I'll have to fix this later if I have to but I think the genderbent name I gave Dash was Diana but I suppose it doesn't matter that much. I also may have gotten a few of my own au story facts wrong since a lot has changed or I never thought about it. But aside from the stuff with Vlad and Walker's original encounter, most of the season 1 episodes should still be more or less the same as far as ghostly encounters, except that some characters have been altered or genderbent too. Lastly, I didn't get to the part where they kick the banshee's backside so sorry about that. Hope you like the chapter though since it's a bit longer than usual since I got carried away. I need to slow down a bit though so it might take a little while to write the next update. Hope to see you then though!

* * *

Chapter 8: Defiance

* * *

Danielle's POV

_Now, if I were a banshee, what sort of spooky lair would I have? In my dream, there was lots of water so maybe something that looks like a lake?_ Once I actually made it into the Ghost Zone I knew I had to stay alert and out of sight...

I had a lot of enemies here but the two allies I had, Cujo and Wulf, well I wasn't sure that they would be able to really help me. I've been learning Esperanto to talk to Wulf though so that's something, I just couldn't talk at all right now and he might not know how to read for all I know. As for Cujo, he was a good dog but if I couldn't give him instructions or a scent to track down that wasn't going to do any good. That said, I was pretty much on my own here.

I knew which places to avoid, but honestly, some of those places were ones that I've only heard about. Like Walker's prison for instance which thankfully I've never been to. In fact, I think the first time I was here was when a nerdy ghost named Sasha Poindexter overshadowed my body and trapped me in her monochrome version of Casper High from the '50s. Looking back it makes me wonder why anyone else was there really since a ghosts lair was usually a personal thing but hey, what do I know?

Ghosts are just weird sometimes...

I didn't want to stick around too long since Vlad was bound to notice I was gone eventually so since this banshee was an older type of ghost with her own folklore and everything like the Fright Knight I set off for that section of the Ghost Zone. I'll admit that the last time I came here and stole his sword that was really stupid of me. I shouldn't have been borrowing trouble but I panicked when Diana's haunted house to keep us out of detention was so much better than mine. Probably hired someone to set up all those rigs. Anyways, I doubt the Fright Knight would accept an apology from me given how we fought and I sent him packing back to the Ghost Zone but I couldn't help thinking about it for some reason as I passed by his lair.

I heard his demonic-looking horse ghost nicker as I flew by too but apart from that nothing happened. There had to be something around here that could lead me to the banshee's lair. The islands here all looked the same and some looked like they had bits and pieces of the ruins of some long lost civilization floating around and that's when I spotted another castle that was a lot different from the Fright Knight's. This one had tall dark spires, a mote, and it was surrounded by dead trees and looked more like a cathedral than a castle.

Curious, I flew closer and felt this odd sensation that things were too quiet here...too still. There was a lake on this island though I thought might be worth checking out, though it seemed unlikely that it had anything to do with the banshee. She seemed more like the solitary type unless she was showing off her latest stolen voice or looking for a new one worthy of her time. Part of me was tempted to capture Ember to offer her voice in exchange for my own but that felt low, even for me, so I decided against it.

Landing beside the lake I started floating around the perimeter, searching for anything even remotely mystical about it when an arrow suddenly whistled past my cheek and embedded itself in a nearby tree. I managed to dodge the next volley of arrows by ducking behind the trees. Since I didn't have time to deal with this idiot I was about to call it quits and leave when another ghost appeared, this time with a huge ax, who chopped down the tree behind me in one fell swoop and it nearly crashed on top of me! In fact, one of the branches scratched my face on the way down and I only just had enough time to roll out of the way.

Now, normally I'd be slinging witty insults at them while we fought but I had to remind myself I couldn't. It kind of sucked the fun out of it really. Either way, I was probably overstaying my welcome so once there was enough distance between me and the two ghosts, I smirked, waved at them as if I was trying to say goodbye and then pulled the Fenton thermos off of my belt. I figured that if I caught them that would at least get them off my back long enough for me to get out of here. But unfortunately for me, when I tried to activate it...it wouldn't work!

_What the-? Come on you stupid thing, turn on already!_ Fiddling with it and hitting the button really hard fist, as if doing that would magically make it work, I didn't notice that the archer ghost was aiming an arrow with a net attached to it. He was just about to aim at me when-

"W-what is the meaning of this? Lower your weapons! Um, right! That is no way to treat a lady," a somewhat familiar voice cried out.

Confused, I looked up and saw the familiar gaze of that dragon-ghost guy I fought a long time ago with the magic arm-brace or whatever with the crystal eye on it. I couldn't remember his name since Sam looked it up once when we were trying to figure out what that thing was, but since he was helping me so I didn't really care. At least right now he didn't seem like an enemy so I waited to see what the other two would do in response.

Once the ax-weilding ghost and the archer saw him approaching us, they bowed low and knelt down on one knee to show him their respect. Huh, I guess he really was a prince and it wasn't just a nickname. Neither of them said anything to him but they patiently awaited their lord's orders while I was busy wiping off some ectoplasmic blood from my cheek. It would probably be healed as good as new by the time I made it back to Vlad's place so I wasn't too worried though.

Meanwhile, my rescuer shifted nervously but after shooting me another curious glance and then turning to look at the castle, he mustered his courage and ordered confidently, "Begone. I'll take care of the intruder myself. Return to your posts at once! My brother does not like to leave the castle undefended for any length of time." Exchanging looks, the guards bowed their heads and the archer shot me one last glare before flying off to follow the other one back to the front gates.

I sighed in relief and was even more surprised when the ghost prince blushed and offered me his hand, "Are you alright milady? Forgive me, my brother Prince Aragon does not take kindly to unwelcome guests, no matter the reason. But when I saw the guards attack you I didn't want to see them injure a lady such as yourself. Especially without due cause. After all, you certainly don't look that dangerous. Besides, clearly, you must not know who rules this place otherwise you never would have risked-"

Blinking a few times after I let go of his hand and started brushing the dust off of my suit, he finally recognized me and gasped, "Wait, I know you. You are Dani Phantom, are you not? Forgive me, I did not recognize you at first since your hair is much shorter now..."

I nodded but I didn't want to risk him finding out I couldn't talk so I smiled, waved, and was about to fly out of this freaky place before something else happened when he grabbed my arm and exclaimed, "Wait! I-I wish to apologize to you, my lady. When we first met my actions were quite unseemly, especially for a second prince, and I humbly beg your forgiveness. I was having a difficult time controlling my powers you see and was rather irritated about it. That is no excuse for my behavior though..."

I frowned at him a little and tried pulling away more insistently but his grip was like iron. I mean he wasn't being unfriendly at all but I was starting to get nervous regardless. I needed to start making my way back before Vlad freaked out once he found out I came here by myself in this condition. Thankfully my princely host was starting to realize that holding me back only made him seem like more of a threat so he finally let go of me.

Bowing to me once again, he blushed, "Now then, where are my manners? I completely forgot to introduce myself. My name is Prince Dorian, second prince of this realm. And if I may be so bold, might I ask what you are doing here? It's dangerous to come here alone, even for a ghost of your caliber."

Giving him a skeptical look since I still wasn't sure if this was all a trick, I decided to trust him anyway and thought that this was a good a chance as any for me to ask a local of the Ghost Zone if they knew anything about the banshee. And it wasn't going to be easy finding a ghost here that didn't want to rip my head off. Of course, I wasn't afraid to knock a few heads around, hell I was even willing to risk a visit to Skulker's lair to get some info out of him. I figured it would be safe enough to try talking to him even if he told Vlad about our encounter since Skulker wasn't allowed to hunt or hurt me anymore.

Something told me I had a better chance getting answers from this guy instead though. Glancing around, I spotted one of the arrows that archer creep left behind and knelt down to start using it to write in the dirt. Puzzled, Dorian moved so he was standing behind me and read what I was writing down aloud, **"A ghost stole my voice and I came here to get it back. Do you know anything about someone who pretends to be a siren but is actually a banshee?"**

His eyes widening in recognition, Dorian exclaimed, "The Banshee?! Yes, I have heard of her, she has stolen the voice of many a maiden even when I was still alive. My elder brother was furious when she did the same to his favorite minstrel a few hundred years ago. What do you wish to know about her? Please, I'd like to make amends to you for the trouble I caused before if that pleases you milady. I want to help you in any way I can before this opportunity slips away."

Sighing in relief since I was happy that Dorian actually did know something about the ghost I was looking for and because seemed very earnest about helping, I wiped away the other words and wrote hastily **'Can you tell me where she is?'**

Frowning he explained, "I can, but do not underestimate her Lady Phantom, she is a crafty one and her lair is full of traps to ensnare wayward ghosts who dare venture there. Some say she even raises Kelpies. They're mystical water horses native to Ireland who lure humans onto their backs then drown their victims and eat all but the liver. They may not be able to do the same thing here obviously since we're all ghosts and cannot satisfy their hunger, but they're still dangerous all the same. And let's not forget that her siren voice can also lure you into the darkness and most who fall under her spell are never seen again..."

I was touched by how concerned Dorian was about me even though I hardly knew the guy, so to reassure him I placed a hand on his shoulder and wrote, **'Thanks for the warning. That's all I needed to know. Don't worry, I have friends who can help me but I wanted to see what I could find out on my own first. You've been a big help.'**

Beaming at me Dorian took my hand in his and kissed the top lightly in a very princely manner, "I am glad of it! I only wish I could do more for you but alas...I must be going before I am missed in court. I wish you safe travels my lady, I will make sure the guards do not trouble you again on your way out of our realm. With any luck, they're still too busy preparing for the Hunt. It's my brother's favorite pass time, such a barbaric custom..." scowling to himself, he pulled his hand away after helping me to my feet then pointed towards one of the islands in the distance that looked like part of a broken bridge.

"Beyond that broken bridge you will find islands that are home to many varieties of aquatic ghosts. Eventually, you may even see a few ice-related ones as well; but take heed, if you do see anything like that it means that you've traveled too far. At any rate, I trust you can make your way back to the real world on your own?" Dorian asked, smiling softly at me.

I nodded, blushing a little since it was kind of cute the way he was acting all princely and charming kind of like Vlad usually did around me. After that I gave Dorian a friendly hug before pulling away again, my heart feeling lighter because despite the near disaster I almost had when those other ghosts cornered me, I actually managed to find what exactly I was looking with relative ease for which was a welcome change. Now I had some idea of where we needed to go and now I even knew about a few of the traps the banshee might have waiting for us once I told Vlad what I found out.

That part wasn't going to be fun but it's his own fault I felt like I had to go behind his back to do my part. So with that, I made my way back to the Fright Knight's lair since I knew how to make my way back to the Fenton portal from there. But sadly, I was totally oblivious to the other pair of eyes watching me leave, hidden in the shadows of the dead forest as I left Dorian's kingdom, or his brother's I guess, far behind me.

* * *

I was just about to pass over the Fright Knight's lair when I felt a sudden chill and stopped in my tracks. It felt like a bucket of ice-cold water had been dumped over my head and was trailing down my spine, filling me with dread. Whatever or whoever I was sensing was dangerous, that much I knew, and I didn't want to stick around to find out who was radiating such a hostile ghost signature. It was probably one of my enemy's who spotted me flying this way so I looked around as I sped through the Ghost Zone to make my way back to the portal and that's when I saw him...

Vlad, he was waiting for me in front of the portal with an angry look on his face, arms crossed. I winced because now I knew that HE was the one radiating such a dangerous aura. Even if I had something to say in my defense, because I couldn't say it I had no choice but to listen to what Vlad had to say about this when I slowly approached him, my head held high because I had as good of a reason to be here as he did since I wanted to get my voice back just as much.

"That little stunt you pulled may have fooled your parents Danielle, but I for one am disappointed in you. Surely you can do better than that? So unless you weren't actually TRYING to hide what you were up to, then you have some explaining to do my dear. If not to me, then to your brother. He's the one who found the note after we finished our tour of the mansion and came to see if you were feeling up for having some dessert and was terribly worried," Vlad frowned but I crossed my arms too and glared back at him stubbornly.

_Seriously? So what if I didn't fool you? I wasn't trying to just like you said. But it sure looks like Jace did. Nice job big bro,_ I thought to myself floating over to the portal with a sigh and opened it. Or, well, I was about to anyway when Vlad grabbed my wrist and made me look at him, his solid red eyes surveying my face until it fell on the scratch on my cheek which he reached up to stroke gently with his thumb. Some of his anger melted away once Vlad knew I was safe but it didn't leave him completely...

After that Vlad pulled me into his arms, his warmth enveloping me, but I didn't hug him back because I, on the other hand, was still pissed. Plus I refused to let him lull me into a false sense of security as usual. I know for a damn fact that the only way Vlad could have gotten here ahead of me is if he already knew where the entrance to the Fenton portal was from his own back at the mansion or even his castle all the way in Wisconsin. That meant he's been keeping tabs on me and knew exactly where I would be once I tried to return home since I obviously wouldn't be able to get in through his portal if he locked it.

But even though ours was still acting up and kept opening randomly, my dad installed a genetic lock on the portal's controls a while ago which helped reduce how often it happened at least. So unless Vlad hacked into our security system and added his genetic signature to it or bypassed our firewalls somehow, he shouldn't be here right now unless Vlad entered the Ghost Zone another way like I said. Not that it mattered because now we were both here and I had the information we needed so we might as well go beat this banshee together and strike while the iron was hot.

Pulling his arms off, I grabbed his hand and even though it took a while to write it all out I told him, **'I found out where the banshee's lair is and know what some of her tricks might be. If we go there now we might be able to catch her off guard. Jason will be fine on his own for a few hours, I gave him one of our parents weapons I brought with me from home to protect himself with. I'm sorry I tricked you, but I knew that if I didn't do something fast you were going to leave me behind for my own protection and I didn't want that. I trust you, but I want to fix this together to show you that I'm not helpless...'**

Wrapping his fingers around mine once I finished writing all that down with my finger, I felt a wave of doubt and concern rush through me before Vlad looked into my eyes and shook his head. "No, not tonight. I wanted to take care of this myself but since you put yourself at risk I think it's best that we return home and discuss this matter further before doing anything brash again. You can tell me what you found once we get there."

I opened my mouth to argue with him when all of a sudden I felt a familiar whooshing sensation as Vlad teleported us away from the Fenton portal and back to his own in less than two minutes. I felt a bit dizzy from the abruptness of it all but it was over before I could do anything about it.

I suppose this saved us a longer trip, however, I didn't like the fact that Vlad didn't even give me a choice. He knew damn well that I hated when he pulled this kind of shit and yet, once we were safely stepping through his portal once he opened it and crossed into his laboratory, Vlad rested his head on my shoulder and sighed heavily.

"It serves me right for thinking I could contain you, my dear. You are after all like a force of nature when you put your mind to something. I deeply admire that, I do, but even so...this should not have happened. I don't want you to ever feel like you can't trust me Danielle and have to hide from me like you do around your parents. It brings back painful memories of when you almost rejected me too once before and I can't bear it!" Pulling me closer to him Vlad started trailing his hands down my sides, raising his head up and when I saw the pained look of loss, longing, and heartbreak in his eyes I had no idea how to respond to it.

Vlad didn't kiss me like I thought he was about to when he maneuvered us so that my back was pressed to one of the examination tables but that didn't stop my heart from racing a mile a minute. This situation reminded me of that time he cornered me before when we first met and when Vlad did the same thing in the Rockies in his chalet and we...made love for the first time. Thankfully, Vlad did let go of me instead of doing anything else and firmly planted his hands on either side of me, transforming back to his human form through sheer force of will and gasped as if he'd been holding his breath up until that very moment.

Straightening up, Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose and told me to go to my room and wait for him while he recomposed himself. I could tell he was trying to stop himself from doing something we would regret later by letting our confused emotions get the better of us when there was so much at stake right now with getting my voice back. I was a bit overwhelmed by all the conflicted feelings I could sense deep inside of my heart that seemed to be radiating from him like a tangible force so I nodded hastily and took his advice, running up the stairs as fast as I could to give him some breathing room after changing back to my human form too...

I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but at the last second, right before the door to the lab closed behind me, I could have sworn I heard Vlad tell himself in a slightly shaken voice, "...just a little longer Vladimir, and then this will all be over. She'll be safe then once I have the things I need and there won't be anything for us to be afraid of, not even losing each other..."


	9. Vagary

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: _Warning, graphic content, a bit more colorful swear words, and suggestive themes ahead!_** And with that out of the way, ok hopefully this will be the last filler chapter before we finally teach that banshee lady a lesson! Which reminds me, if you go check out my tumblr called _"The Soul's Pulse"_ I drew the way I imagined the genderbent version of Princess Dorathea, aka Prince Dorian in this story. And lastly, ugh I planned to pace myself but couldn't sleep last night so I cranked this bad boy out to explain a bit more of Vlad's side of things. He's trying to help but sadly is going about it the wrong way as usual but it's out of fear of losing Danielle. Hopefully, Vlad will wise up soon but there's more drama to come before then! You'll just have to wait and see what else I have planned for this story...

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Chapter 9: Vagary

(Chapter inspired by Hunger by Amaranthe)

* * *

Vlad's POV

I knew perfectly well that Danielle wasn't going to be fooled into thinking I invited her brother to stay with us out of the kindness of my heart. But in my mind that hardly mattered. I needed a distraction to make sure she wouldn't change her mind about leaving the matter of recovering her voice to me and followed me into the Ghost Zone. That was the only reason I denied myself the privilege of isolating myself with Danielle once more so that we could show each other all of the love and tenderness in our hearts that we have only been able to express in words since I left Amity Park a few months ago.

How cruel it was then, that fate would take even that from my lover before everything I've been striving to achieve had finally become a reality. She was handling the situation surprisingly well but I could tell that Danielle was vexed by the whole thing and felt as if she had failed both of us by letting this happen. Danielle's strength and determination were dazzling and yet...my fear of losing her these past months has only grown as my nightmares worsened.

Normally, I was not prone to having many dreams at all, but whenever I thought of Danielle, visions of her would fill my mind with such clarity that sometimes she seemed real enough to touch. I've memorized the mellifluous sound of her voice, the assuasive coolness of her skin, the softness of her hair, the dazzling glow of her smile and the way her blue eyes shine like sunlight dancing off the waves of the sea to the point where I need only close my eyes and imagine Danielle and I could see her perfectly in my mind's eye. And I would think of her often after a particularly troubling day of long and arduous negotiations while trying to convince those in charge of Axion Labs to sell it to me or when I was dealing with some of my own idiotic employees. The thought of her or reminding myself that I was doing this all for her made it easier to push through the constant headache that came with dealing with people in general...

That being said though, it was not only my dreams that allowed me to see her clearly but also my nightmares. At first, the nightmares were subtle and played out like a memory repeating itself only parts of it would change and Danielle would look at me with disgust and fear once she realized my feelings for her. And her parents, they too would see that I was having dangerous thoughts about their daughter and would take her away from me. Then, if I dared to follow them Danielle would attack me and threaten to tell them the truth about me and what a monster I was. I knew this wasn't real but her words were hurtful all the same, especially when she threw my own words back at me and told me how wrong all of this was.

After a while, once the real Danielle started to accept my feelings more those nightmares slowly faded into memory. But sadly, it wasn't long before new ones took their place. Because now, I was not only afraid of rejection but also afraid of her untimely demise or someone taking her from me. I remember dreaming that I didn't find Danielle in time when I spirited her away to my mountain chalet before those ghostly beasts could kill her and I found her lifeless body torn asunder laying in a pool of red and green blood. I watched in horror as her head slowly twisted to face me at an inhuman angle while her cold glazed eyes stared into my soul as if accusing me of being responsible for her death because of my selfishness when I let my lust cloud my judgment and gave into temptation.

My next nightmare was a bit more subtle. We were taking a walk together in the park, hand in hand, when Danielle spotted one of her friends from school and asked if she could go say hello. I nodded since I didn't see the harm in that but the moment her hand left mine I felt the air grow cold and I stood there, unable to move when all of a sudden her so-called friends began laughing and jeering at Danielle and making her feel ashamed to be seen with me. I watched helplessly as her eyes filled with tears and she turned to me, looking lost and scared. I wanted to comfort her, tell her to ignore them since they were beneath her but then I felt hands pulling at the fabric of my suit, pulling me away and telling me that I had a reputation to think about and that staying with Danielle would ruin everything.

I ignored these voices but couldn't escape their gasp and that's when I saw Danielle's real friends, Samson, and Miss Foley go to her and consoled their friend who couldn't seem to stop crying. I felt my blood boil though when Samson pulled her into his arms, cradling her head, then his violet eyes turned to me and he smiled cruelly, as if daring me to prove him right about being possessive of her and telling Danielle to get away from him...

My eyes widened though when Samson's eyes changed from violet to blood-red and just as Miss Foley and our surroundings faded in a wisp of smoke he transformed into Freakshow in his ghost form and Danielle went limp in his arms in a dead faint after her eyes rolled back into her skull. Meanwhile, before I could rush to her aid I could feel literal chains latching onto my arms and legs and they were the same red ones that he used before to bind Danielle so I knew I would not be able to break free of them.

When I looked back up to see if Danielle was alright I could see these strange red spidery threads that were attached to all of her limbs at the joint, as if invisibly attached to Danielle's bones through the skin. They were slack for a moment until Freakshow sneered at me and as soon as the strings were pulled taut, suspending Danielle in the air he began tracing the curves of her body suggestively with his gloved hands, shadows snaking across her skin until whatever she was wearing before transformed into some sort of Gothic dress that made her look like some sort of living doll.

_"Enjoying the show? I certainly hope so..."_ Freakshow cackled, yanking her towards him to kiss Danielle's lips, his hands sliding up her legs and pushing the skirt of her dress up.

Enraged I struggled against the chains binding me but they only tightened and before long I couldn't feel the circulation in my hands or feet anymore. My whole body felt frozen and yet the chains burned my flesh like a white-hot brand and I could only watch in anger and disgust as that deplorable ghost bastard toyed with Danielle's body gleefully in front of me. And no matter how loudly or desperately I shouted her name and tried to help her regain her senses, Danielle's eyes remained listless and empty like the emotionless doll she was being treated as...

It didn't matter if I shut my eyes and turned away, I could still see what he was doing to her and could hear Danielle's voice howling in pain and pleasure. After that I wanted nothing more than to escape this nightmare, there was only so much that even I could bear since Danielle was so precious to me and yet this man was violating her in every way he could, laughing as I was forced to witness it knowing I was powerless to stop him. At one point Danielle finally regained her senses and tearfully begged me to make him stop, to help her, but all I could do was try to comfort Danielle and assure her it would all be over soon. I didn't believe my own words but...I didn't want Danielle to feel any more afraid than she already was.

As soon as Freakshow heard me make my empty promises, he licked her neck, yanking it to the side and declared, _"You know what, this is getting boring. I think it's about time we close the curtain on this little act...permanently."_

Danielle was just about to call out my name when there was a sickening snap and time seemed to slow as she crumpled to the ground. I screamed, finally breaking the chains, and reached for her, my heart breaking just as suddenly as Freakshow had broken her neck, and then I bolted upright in bed. That was the moment when I decided that something needed to change...

I am Vlad Masters, also known as Vlad Plasmius, and I would NOT continue to live my life in fear of losing the one thing in this damned world worth anything to me! No matter what it took, no matter who or what was sacrificed, I would protect Danielle and ensure that she would never come that close to death again. We would rule over and BECOME death personified to all who stood in our way...

* * *

As I was making my way to Danielle's room I recounted the events of this evening starting with what I found out about those pages Danielle tucked away into her bag. Normally I would have respected her privacy unless she was in danger and I needed to find more information. But this time was different...

I suppose we were both a bit too alike since Danielle and I suspected each other of hiding something. I meant it when I told her once before that I didn't want there to be any secrets between us, however, when it came to her safety I had already broken this self-appointed rule more than once. I've even overshadowed Danielle to make her forget sensing that I was planning on killing Freakshow a second time after he began tormenting her dreams and made it clear that he was never going to give up claiming her once more. I didn't want her to be afraid of me or for those thoughts to trouble her, but given the after-effects of doing so that time and more recently when we shared a dream together I could feel myself growing more accustomed to sensing Danielle's thoughts and feelings.

This went both ways however and complicated things so I needed to tread carefully. At any rate, when Danielle was called downstairs so she and her brother could say goodbye before their parents went on patrol, I sent an invisible duplicate upstairs and suppressed my ghost signature and covered up the reason Danielle sensed me using my ghost powers even then by sneezing and letting a few sparks flash across my fingers since even I was known to have my powers misfire once in a while as far as she knew. It happened so quickly that normally no one would have noticed but she did and couldn't resist smiling a little when I coughed into my fist after and tried to look slightly embarrassed with myself.

Once free of any suspicion, I instructed my duplicate to phase their hand into Danielle's bag which was still upstairs and to read what was on those pages torn from her notebook. It wouldn't matter if they weren't put back in the exact same spot since the pages were bound to shift once we began the ride over to the mansion in my limousine. I made sure my duplicate kept the pages in order though and through our link I was able to learn what was written on them...

That's when one of the things Danielle wrote, while simple, caught my attention because it felt like there was a lot more weight behind those words. Those words were **'How long have you known?' **Seeing this, it didn't take a rocket scientist to guess what she meant by that comment but I wasn't entirely sure. Could it be that her brother knew that Danielle wasn't entirely human anymore...?

I knew I didn't have much time left before Danielle went back upstairs to grab her things but I had to know! Scanning the pages I saw a drawing of what I was guessing was the banshee that stole her voice along with a list of questions for her brother and answers, one of which confirmed my suspicions that read **'I've been like this since the accident, I couldn't control them at first but now I use my powers to help people because if I don't then who will? And you know how mom and dad are. They usually don't notice anything past the bridge of their noses. That's why I want to fix this somehow so it doesn't keep causing more trouble for Vlad too.'**

I scanned the rest of what she wrote but was relieved that the topic switched back to the banshee and Danielle diligently jotted down a few notes but when I reached the last page it looked like she was cut off in the middle of writing and that's when she must have torn out the pages and tossed them in the trash before her mother went to get them earlier while I was talking to Jack. It all made sense now. Danielle didn't want me to handle this alone but it wasn't because she didn't trust me, it was because she wanted to help.

Danielle told me as much in her dream but still, I didn't want to put her at risk like that which is why I had decided to use her brother as a distraction before I learned about any of this. Now that I knew that there was more going on between them than I thought when he pulled her aside, I decided I wanted to find out exactly how much Jason knew about any of this. And so, since Danielle was asleep, or so I thought by the time I put the pages back in her bag and we drove to my mansion, I expertly began fishing for information from her brother to find out how much he knew about myself, the banshee, AND his sister.

* * *

In theory, it shouldn't have been much different than tricking a business rival but Jason was a very clever young man and managed to evade most of my questions. I suppose that made sense because he wanted to become a psychologist one day, and a few times Jason even turned my questions back towards me which oddly enough was very impressive. It was nice in a way to hold a conversation like this with someone who could keep up and wasn't going to give in so easily. I had a lot of respect for Jason but even so, if this went on much longer then I was going to have to resort to using some of my usual overshadowing tactics where I would do so just long enough to confuse them and leave an impression that they were about to reveal their secrets to me.

As it turns out, however, I was getting nowhere fast and I didn't want to press him too hard and risk losing Jason's respect towards me by being overly nosy so instead I assumed that Danielle must have woken up from her nap by now and we walked to her room together since I thought it would be nice to end tonight on a high note before getting to business in the Ghost Zone once they were both tucked away in bed for the night. I didn't want to give Danielle enough time to change her mind about letting me recover her stolen voice personally so as an added security measure I planned to activate the anti-ghost shield to not only keep her in, but also keep any unwanted visitors out not unlike before.

I knew instantly that something was wrong when I couldn't sense her presence when we entered the room after knocking gently on the door in case she was still asleep. It wasn't just dormant or weak while she was in human form, as usual, it was non-existent. So I watched carefully as Jason went to shake her awake but a look of concern flitted across his face and he glanced back at me unsurely, likely about to say she was still asleep so we should turn in for the night. It was too late for that though, his expression said it all and so I forced myself to remain calm even when I confronted Jason directly about the fact that his sister was now missing...again.

"Danielle's not here, is she?" I began, internally cursing myself for not realizing she had left sooner.

His shoulder's dropping, Jason shook his head and pulled back the covers to reveal nothing but pillows set up to look roughly like someone curled up for a good night's sleep. At least Jason knew better than to make excuses for his sister beyond the understandable ones such as when he said that she must have run off to find that ghost on her own and get her voice back since she was being stubborn and didn't want to be treated like a damsel. I quirked an eyebrow at this since he was obviously trying not to say anything regarding the fact that she, in fact, flew off instead but then Jason tried to convince me that we should go look for her since she couldn't have gone far, which was likely just another distraction and I wasn't going to have any of that.

Placing a firm but gentle grip on his shoulder I asked him to read the note we found that fell to the floor after he pulled the covers off, and Jason's expression only grew more anxious when he did, "**If you're reading this don't worry, I'll be back soon but I couldn't sit back and let you do all the work after all Vlad. That's why I've gone back home to check something since mom and dad are gone for now and won't suspect anything. But just in case something happens then you know where to find me. I'm not going anywhere we haven't already been to before so I promise I haven't been kidnapped again. And I'm not going to be doing anything too crazy there, I just want to grab a few things I forgot down in the lab before we left that might help us deal with her and get my voice back. P.S. If my brother is with you then this next part is to him. I know you're worried about me too but it's ok, Vlad's on our side. Just trust me on that ok? Either way I'll see you in a few hours...**"


	10. Resounding

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Ok ok, I promise, in the NEXT chapter we'll finally get down to business since I had something else to get out of the way first just to make things less complicated in the future story-wise. You'll see what I mean by the end of the chapter. Anyways, let's just say that Vlad realized that some secrets should be kept while others will need to be shared so that he doesn't lose Danielle's faith in him. So what he does next ends up being a big shock. After this though, like I said we'll finally get this over with even if it kills me! Lolz jk, but you get my point. Hope you like the next chapter! Also, I can't share the link but you can look up the song that inspired this chapter on Youtube.

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Chapter 10: Resounding

(Chapter inspired by Celtic Theme Funeral Song ~ Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep by LEAH)

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Danielle's POV

My hands were shaking angrily as I wrote down some of the things I wanted to say to Vlad and ask him ahead of time in my notebook, but after a while, I had to force myself to stop and take a few deep breaths. I didn't write down what I learned about the banshee yet though on purpose yet because Vlad wasn't going to get anything out of me until he agreed to let me go with him the next time he went into the Ghost Zone. Because while I appreciated that Vlad cared so much I didn't want him to keep treating me like a child, I'm not that helpless anymore.

At least my brother understood that much and believed in me.

Speaking of which, Vlad said that Jace is the one who found the note but was that the truth? I tried to make it sound as cryptic yet honest as possible so that both of them would get the message I was trying to get across. So since Vlad was making me wait in my room, feeling like I was about to get scolded, I thought, _Screw it, I should at least go let Jace know I'm alright._

With that in mind, I stood up and was about to head out into the hallway when I sensed Vlad coming. It was almost like he knew right when I was about to leave so I cursed under my breath, sat back down on the bed, set the notebook in my lap, and waited. Shortly after I heard the tell-tale sound of knocking before Vlad entered the room but I was surprised to see that Jace was with him looking at me guiltily. I blinked, wondering what Vlad's game was here but then Jace decided to speak first.

"I'm sorry Dani, I tried to cover for you but...Vlad figured it out so I had to tell him the truth about you leaving the mansion. Are you ok?" Jace asked me, noticing the cut on my cheek which I had totally forgotten about after changing back that was mostly healed now but was still bleeding a little.

Shooting Vlad a bit of a dirty look I turned back to Jace and nodded, watching him as he made his way over to the bed to sit next to me. After that, Vlad decided that he wasn't in the mood for word games and told us bluntly, "She didn't just leave the mansion, she left this world behind entirely. But you already knew that, didn't you...? I had no intention of prying into your private discussion after dinner, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the two of you were up to something and I was not mistaken..."

Looking at me directly, Vlad pulled up a chair from the desk on the other side of the room without ever breaking eye contact and directed his next words at me, "Danielle, what you did was very foolish and dangerous and you could have put yourself in grave danger going into the Ghost Zone alone. If I hadn't realized that's where you had run off to, you could have gotten much more than a scratch by the time I brought you home. That reminds me, Jason would you please grab a towel from the restroom so she can clean it?"

"S-sure," Jason nodded, sparing me a glance before going to do that and then sitting back down next to me and instead of giving me the towel he went ahead and cleaned the cut himself and I blushed in embarrassment. Because that's just great, now they were both going to treat me like a baby...

Once we were settled in again, Vlad continued, "I know that you've both been keeping secrets and honestly I can't blame you for it given how your parents are, however, now is not the time for such secrecy. Dealing with this is difficult enough without your cooperation. Especially yours Danielle. So I'll be frank, and Jason-"

Flinching when Vlad gave him a stern look, Jace seemed to shrink a little and asked, "Y-yeah? What is it?"

My eyes flew open in shock when Vlad took a deep breath, shooting me a strange look before this feeling of apprehension washed over me before he said, "For my sake and Danielle's, what I'm about to tell you can never be revealed to your parents under ANY circumstances. They wouldn't understand. And the ONLY reason I am telling you this is because we both want to keep your sister safe and I'm the only other person in this world that can help her become strong enough to defend herself from even greater threats in the future than this banshee. However, we both know for a fact that you won't be living at home forever and likewise, I won't always be able to step in to protect her as long as she's living in Fenton Works so I need to know that we can trust you. For in some ways, this IS a matter of life...and death."

All of the color drained from my face when Vlad stood, closed his eyes, and transformed into his ghost half a moment later right in front of my brother. I could feel my heart starting to race as panic set in and I whirled my head around to see what Jace's reaction was. He looked surprised yes but somehow not as much as I thought he'd be.

That's when I was equally shocked when Jace laughed nervously and admitted, "You know, I kinda had a feeling that you weren't exactly _'normal'_ even for a billionaire. I've known about my sister's ghost form for a couple of months now, but when she told me she's been like this ever since the accident with our parents portal, on the way over here I began wondering if maybe the reason you two seemed to be so close is because something similar happened to you after your accident years ago with the same invention. Besides, it seemed almost inhuman how fast you would find out something was going on with my sister and you'd swoop in to help like when that ghost ringleader kidnapped her. Now I know why."

Changing back to his human form, Vlad walked up to us with his hands behind his back, his gaze softening when he saw the frightened expression on my face, and sighed, "Danielle, look at me."

Doing so reluctantly, Vlad reached out with one hand to rest it on top of my head to ruffle my hair affectionately and smiled, but for some odd reason, it didn't reach his eyes which was a little unnerving. Then, adopting a serious tone, Vlad continued, "Since I don't want you running off on your own again we'll do this your way this time. But in the future, I want you to tell us when you're in trouble now that you know that we are BOTH on your side, my dear. Do you understand?" Glancing between him and my brother, feeling a bit outmatched in an entirely different way, my shoulders slumped and I nodded.

"That's my girl," Vlad smiled, his eyes shining mischievously in a way that only I would understand. Settling back down in his chair, looking much more at ease now that he felt he had _'won'_ this round of wits with me by removing my trump card of having my brother around to cover for me while I was here too, he smirked and asked, "Now then, why don't you two tell me what you found out about the banshee we're after that stole our dear Danielle's voice?"

* * *

I can't even begin to tell you how strange it was having my brother in on not only MY secret but also Vlad's. I never expected him to reveal it to Jace so willingly and to be honest our little meeting flew by in a bit of a blur. Then again it was getting super late now and I was exhausted from my trip into the Ghost Zone. At the same time though I felt a little better that I didn't have to try hiding Vlad's secret from my brother while keeping the fact that my brother knew mine from Vlad on top of everything else while we were staying here. I was just shell-shocked that this was happening since I only just found out before we left the house that my brother has known about me for ages.

It was a relief that two of the only other people I trusted with my secret were on the same side and accepted me all the same. I just wasn't sure how Jace was taking the news that Vlad was the first person our parents have played a part in making like this. Either way, I was only half-listening while the two of them were talking unless they asked me something and I either wrote it down or pointed to one of the things I wrote beforehand. It was like I wasn't all there and my ears kept ringing, making me feel dizzy.

Vlad must have noticed something amiss because the two of them stopped talking and looked at me with worried expressions when I started to stare blankly down at my hands. He started to say something but I couldn't hear him, my ears were still ringing but then it...the sound changed until I was suddenly hearing music. Confused I looked up and stared at him, only just noticing that the air was rippling with the same water-like shimmer as before when that banshee stole my voice.

There was water pooling at our feet but neither Vlad or Jace seemed to have noticed it. I watched in wonder as it reached past my ankles, over my knees, my elbows, until eventually it was nearly to the roof now but the two of them didn't react any differently to being underwater now so...was I dreaming?

I'm sure they were saying something to me and Vlad was even shaking my shoulders but their voices were so distant and muffled because of the water between us that it was like they weren't talking at all and all I could hear was the music, drums pulsing through the water and reverberating through my entire being along with a voice I knew better than anyone. It was mine. I was singing some kind of...folk song. But no, not me, that banshee was using it to lure someone into her lair but why was I hearing this? Was I daydreaming all of this? It definitely seemed that way.

I didn't even notice when my throat started to shine and pulse in little rings of light as I unconsciously opened my mouth to silently sing along with the words I was hearing in my head. But the strangest part was that Vlad and Jason could hear the voice now too and slowly slipped into a hypnotic daze, enraptured by my words. Especially Vlad who collapsed to his knees and stared up at me in awe after slipping from his chair. Now both of them were listening intently as my voiceless song echoed in their minds:

_The shadows which have fallen_

_Are long and deep_

_With nary a light to cast them._

_Our voices ring out_

_A mournful song to sing_

_With nary a voice to carry them._

_Near a circle of stones, we dance_

_With nary a footstep to fall upon the ancient earth._

_Come hither to me_

_O wayward wanderer_

_With nary any hope of returning home._

_Be not afraid_

_For death comes to all_

_With nary a soul spared from its cold grasp._

_But in dreaming, we see,_

_In dreaming, we hear,_

_All the voices of loved ones who walk with us no more..._

When the song was over and the music faded away, I gasped and swayed dizzily, the whole room swaying too as I stood up. I felt like there was somewhere I was supposed to go, a pull tugging at me, but then all too soon reality came crashing back over me like a wave hitting the shore and I sagged to my knees and leaned heavily on the edge of the bed. Vlad and Jace were still coming out of their trance too but whatever just happened proved one thing. The banshee, she had only stolen half of my voice or at the very least I was still connected to it...

...almost like it carried with it a small piece of my soul.

* * *

**P.S. **I wrote the banshee/folk song myself by the way.


	11. Cooperation

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Meh this might be cheating a little but I wanted to give Dani some use of her voice back temporarily so there you have it. If you're a little confused about what happened, she was accidentally given back a bit of a phantom voice because a dormant ghost power related to it that was activated by mistake by the banshee. Like I said though it was only temporarily so they'll need to get her voice back for real now. I really tried to speed things up to get that done in this chapter but I had to stop at 8 pages but at least they're ready to so it won't be long now.

* * *

Chapter 11: Cooperation

* * *

Danielle's POV

"W-what the hell was that?" Jace winced, still recovering from that weird song I just sang telepathically or something. I can't really explain what happened beyond that though.

Vlad recovered faster than we did so he carefully helped me to my feet, staring at me with a slightly impressed expression on his face before explaining, "That was likely the banshee's death song she was using to lure some poor soul to their doom. But the fact that we were able to hear it means one thing. Danielle's voice wasn't stolen completely. Her human voice was, yes, but not all of it because it would seem that she has a hidden talent that I wasn't aware of," he said, directing his next words at me personally, "It would seem that the banshee was right about the two of you sharing a similar undeveloped power, your voice seems to have the ability to produce sonic waves of ecto-energy that can be used to either emit a soothing sound or inflict pain. This must be the first time she activated that power to boost her own and it resonated with your ghost half and effected you too. If my theory is correct though, Danielle, try saying something to us."

Blinking at him and staring at Vlad like he'd gone mad, I shook my head and tried to force out them out like before to say, _"You know I can't say anything until we-!?"_

Stunned, I reflexively reached up to rub my throat when I felt this odd sensation that I can only describe as that feeling you get when you've had a sore or scratchy throat and then you drink something that gives you this instant feeling of relief. But the words that came out weren't actually spoken words, they were like faint sound waves vibrating through the air from my throat I guess according to Vlad. I could almost see the faint pulses of light too when I tested a few other sounds and words and sighed after noticing that he was giving me this smug knowing look.

Well, I guess I wasn't going to complain if this meant I could talk outside of my dreams but still, what just happened proved my point. Vlad needed me so he wouldn't go off following my stolen voice when he knew damn well it was the banshee and not me. I don't know if what happened was on purpose or a mistake on the banshee's part, but either way, something had to be done. I had to agree with Vlad on one thing though, that wasn't going to happen tonight.

"Ok, this is getting a little too real for me so...if you two have everything covered I'm going to go to bed. Are you going to be alright Dani?" Jace asked me, looking worried and admittedly a little scared.

I felt bad making him feel like this so I hugged Jace tightly. _"I'll be alright. We'll think of a way to fix this. You've done enough..."_

Once I let go, Vlad rested a hand on my shoulder and reassured my brother that we would deal with the rest ourselves but for now, since this has been an overwhelming night for all of us it would be best to pick things up sometime tomorrow. Oh, but I was going to make sure of that even if I had to stay up all night to make sure Vlad didn't sneak off back to the Ghost Zone the moment I dozed off. Either way, Vlad gave my shoulder one last squeeze before helping Jace to his feet and escorting him back to his room. I wasn't exactly invited but I followed them anyway to make sure Vlad wasn't up to anything.

* * *

As soon as Jace was back in his guestroom again, Vlad wordlessly took me by the hand and instead of bringing me back to mine, he started bringing me to his and my heart fluttered nervously. Then again, maybe he was thinking the same thing I was and didn't want me running off again. Vlad tried to hide his feelings but where his fingers touched the bare skin on my wrist it was like I could sense a growing unease as well as anger at himself. Not to mention a painful longing that was eating him alive. That's when it suddenly hit me that maybe...Vlad wasn't just using Jace as an excuse to keep me on my best behavior, he was using Jace to keep HIMSELF in check so he could deal with the banshee first even though Vlad's aching desire to hold me in his arms and never let go was almost palpable.

I wasn't sure what to think after Vlad closed the door behind us but flinched involuntarily at the sound since my mind was on something else. Seeing this, Vlad walked up to me and examined my face one more time, cupping my cheeks in his hands, smiling briefly when he saw that the cut on my cheek was healed now as good as new. He tried to catch my gaze but I kept unsurely glancing off to the side. My heart was beating fast and hard though because what Vlad was feeling right now was that intense.

He's clearly been trying to hold back but when I spooked him I guess I made those feelings worse. Or was this an aftereffect of that weird fake siren song? I wasn't sure but tonight was going to be a long night if we both suspected the other to run off into the Ghost Zone without telling each other. And on top of that, Vlad wanted me, bad, and physically I wanted him too but how could I when there were all these lies between us?

Pulling his hands away I shook my head and backed away, feeling confused and lost and sort of...intimidated by how sure Vlad felt. Moving away was the wrong move though because Vlad followed me and rested his hands on my shoulders and slid them down to rest at my elbows as he guided me to the foot of his bed, his eyes pleading. "Don't go, please Danielle. I need to tell you something. And it is very important that you listen."

I didn't trust my phantom voice or whatever it was so I took a deep breath and nodded. The least I could do was listen since he just revealed his biggest secret to my brother for my sake which was kind of a huge deal. The last time he let me reveal his secret was to my friends so that they could contact him in case I couldn't if something happened again since they knew my secret too. That being said I knew that couldn't have been easy for him even if Vlad was only telling my brother part of the truth. I just wish he hadn't sprung it on me when I was still getting used to Jace knowing my secret.

Kneeling before me with his hands still resting on my elbows, Vlad told me, "I know why you did what you did, but since I was still worried about you so after a while I sent a duplicate to keep an eye on you that informed me you flew back to Fenton Works. I had them wait to see what you would do but when we found the note in your bedroom and it informed me that you had opened the portal, I knew I had to act fast. So I instructed your brother to stay put until I brought you back, and then I traveled through my portal to find you."

Pausing briefly, Vlad continued, "It didn't take long since I know the area's you are familiar with from the stories you've told me but it took every ounce of self-control I had not to reveal myself when I saw you flying over the realm of the Fright Knight. I did lose my temper however when I saw that you were bleeding which attracted some foul ghost in the area so I took care of it before cutting you off at the entrance to your parents portal."

I waited for him to say more but when he didn't I asked, _"Why are you telling me this?"_

Gazing at me with a mixture of affection and seriousness, he told me, "Because my dear, I want you to know that I was not already in the Ghost Zone before you arrived. I was not planning on making my move until the two of you were settled in, but when you put yourself in danger because you THOUGHT I had gone behind your back reminded me how much you value trust. That is why I took the risk of telling your brother my secret to wash away any lingering doubts. Danielle..."

Resting his head on my lap Vlad sighed, brushing his thumbs across my skin, "No matter the cost, I don't want to risk losing you again. So please, swear to me you will never do something like that again. If you are that worried about me facing this ghost alone then I will agree to let you come with me. I can't bear the thought of you in that place alone when enemies are around every corner. Most know not to cross paths with me, but you well, I can see many reasons why a ghost would be infatuated with you whether that is as a challenger or a fancinating and beautiful ghost..."

_Damn it, Vlad knows I can't resist when he uses that voice,_ Vlad only made it worse by nuzzling closer to me and wrapping his arms around my stomach which was aflutter with nervous butterflies. Was Vlad...trying to seduce me? If so it was working because his embrace is something I've missed these past few months. However, I wasn't going to give in that easily.

_"Fair enough. If you promise not to go behind my back I won't go behind yours. I want to do this together because _otherwise_, it all feels so one-sided and like I'm not doing enough to help. I hate that feeling. And I know one way to make sure you don't have a reason to sneak off tonight either..."_ Smiling suggestively I leaned back on the bed, forcing him to follow so he wasn't sitting awkwardly on the floor.

Vlad slowly climbed on top of me, hands on either side of me and he eyed my body hungrily, but then he looked right into my eyes and asked seriously, though not without a hint of daring, "What about your brother? Aren't you afraid of him hearing something or noticing you're not in your room if he wanted to talk to you again in private about what he just learned?"

Frowning since he had a point, I debated on whether to fall for Vlad's bluff since this could just be another diversion or call it, but then he gently kissed my lips and stood back up with a sad smile and began loosening his bow tie and stepping over to his walk-in closet to grab his usual silk pajamas and robe to casually change into. And as he was changing Vlad explained what he meant a little more clearly.

"As tempted as I am there's no need for such...erotic theatrics, Danielle. I'm not going anywhere tonight just as I promised. But tomorrow, you and I will go into the Ghost Zone together once I've made sure Jason is settled for the day and well-protected. And you may be wondering why I won't be setting him up with a tutor, however, really, you're the only one who really needs a tutor when it comes to school and with your powers. And the only reason I say this as far as your schooling is concerned because your older brother has already stayed back a year as a super senior so he has more than enough credits to graduate high school. As for finding the banshee, we'll use the information you've gathered to come up with a plan. I assume you already have a few ideas?" Vlad asked, sounding genuinely curious.

_Oh, now he's just playing hard to get. I know what I felt but Vlad's right. We need to stay focused and if he doesn't plan on running off I should give him a chance to prove it instead of assuming,_ I thought to myself before climbing off the bed too and wandering over to the closet, leaning against the door frame with my arms crossed and eyes closed, listening to the sound of fabric shifting as I gathered my thoughts.

_"I do but what happened earlier has me worried. I was sort of half-asleep when it happened but you and Jason were...enthralled by my voice when I was connected with the banshee. So it's a good thing I grabbed the Fenton Phones from home to protect YOU. It filters out ghost energy in sound waves and stopped Sam from falling for Ember's love song spell. I told you the story didn't I?"_ Cracking one eye open to look at him I caught Vlad scowling and chuckled, it was fun to make him jealous at least sometimes.

"I'm going to feel ridiculous wearing them but alright, if you think that will help," walking over to me, now fully changed, Vlad handed me a familiar satin outfit I wore before and whispered, "You forgot that here the last time we met. That should save you a trip back to your room to change."

Blushing a little I wordlessly changed into it before joining Vlad in bed, or planning to at least but then he went over to the sofa in front of the fireplace just like the one he had in his castle and the mountain chalet and I quirked an eyebrow at him when he settled down there instead and grabbed the book sitting on the coffee table which he began to read. Curious I sat down on the sofa as well and asked,_ "Aren't you coming to bed?"_

Shaking his head Vlad replied, "Not yet, there's some research of my own I would like to finish before tomorrow but you're welcome to use the bed if you're tired, my dear. Or you could join me here for a bit. I wouldn't mind the company..." patting his lap, I realized what Vlad meant and smiled.

I can't begin to tell you how glad I was that Vlad wasn't acting all super controlling and he was being reasonable about all this which helped me feel more relaxed. And since I still wanted to spend time with him, I paused to grab the throw blanket folded at the end of the sofa and tried to lay some of it over both of us before resting my head in his lap just like when I rested it on my brother's lap during the drive over. Smiling, Vlad rested a hand on my shoulder while deftly holding the book in his other hand. Too bad I should have been paying a little more attention to what exactly Vlad was currently researching which was related to a very different ghost he just mentioned...

* * *

Vlad's POV

Drawing wisdom from some of my previous mistakes with Danielle I knew better than to test my luck and I truly did not want her doing anything reckless to prove herself to me or anyone else. Besides, I probably had a better chance of protecting her this time by getting back into her good graces and doing this together which is why I took that risk with her brother by allowing him to learn my secret as well to lift the extra burden of that from her shoulders. And Jason seemed fiercely loyal to his sister and trusted me and the fact that he was relying on me more than their parents already told me everything I needed to know.

The poor boy was a bit overwhelmed to be sure but that was understandable so while I would be including Danielle more in this escapade, I would be excluding her brother since he seems to have hit his limit as far as direct involvement. That's why the next morning, since Danielle was still asleep, once I gently tucked her into her own bed so it wouldn't raise suspicions I quickly set about making preparations. And one of those was making sure Jason would have everything he needed in our absence, including protection.

I didn't want him to feel trapped in the manor because frankly, the banshee wasn't interested in him or even knew Danielle had a brother, Jason just happened to be there when we were both enraptured by the banshee's death song. Therefore I decided I would have my vultures watch him just to be safe and allow him to carry whatever weapons his sister gave him for protection. I also decided to give him a little spending money in case he wanted to order anything to eat that wasn't at home and instructed my limo driver to take him wherever he wished to go.

Of course, when I actually went to speak to the boy I was hardly surprised when Jason asked me where the library was again since a few choice volumes had caught his eye during the tour. I was glad he decided not to worry about the fact that I was the first half-ghost to exist, likely assuming he could ask about what happened later once things calmed down. At any rate, I informed Jason of our plans and told him that should anything unusual happen I had a less...obvious ghost shield than their parents one currently activated around the perimeter so there should be nothing for him to be afraid of.

That helped Jason feel more at ease, but much like the first time, while we were on the subject of protection, he said that if anything happened to his sister we would be having some serious words. In response, I just smiled and made the joke that I'd sooner die than let anything happen but it was a bit late for that which earned a nervous chuckle from the young man. After that, I showed him to the kitchen and dining room next and told him I would be back with Danielle shortly. And just to tease him a little more about having ghost powers, I teleported before his eyes which must have shocked him but sadly I missed his reaction.

Thankfully I made it to Danielle's room just in time to see her eyes flutter opened as she stretched and sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. But before reality or unneeded panic could set in the moment she realized this wasn't my room where she had fallen asleep last night, I phased through the door and greeted her casually. Danielle's shoulder's immediately dropped in relief and she rested a hand over her heart before throwing the blankets aside and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

She opened her mouth to say good morning back to me but was shocked when nothing happened this time. Sadly I had a feeling this might be the case so after walking up to her, lifting one hand to my lips and kissing her knuckles, I cupped Danielle's cheek with the other and explained sadly, "I had a feeling the effects of whatever happened last night wouldn't last. But don't worry my dear, we're going to get your voice back today for certain. I promise."

Danielle nodded, looking disappointed as she stepped away from me to grab her notebook again and set it on the bed and then went to change clothes in the restroom before joining me again. She was wearing the same casual outfit she had worn for our first non-date when Danielle showed me the meteor shower, and the memory of it made me smile. But then it fell when I realized she must still not have many clothes to choose from even with the outfits I've given her as well. This would need to be remedied soon if I had anything to say about it.

Back to the matter at hand, however, once Danielle was ready we joined Jason for breakfast and I explained today's plans as well as the fact that sadly Danielle was mute again for now. He seemed worried but Danielle smiled at him and hugged her brother to let him know she would be alright and wasn't worried. This became more obvious when she patted my shoulder as if to say that I would be watching her back which made my heart swell and I had to resist embracing her to reaffirm that.

Still, once we were all on the same page I was relieved that Jason only needed to be told once and knew what to do in the event that we didn't return right away. Not that this would be a problem since I knew the area Danielle described to me as being the banshee's lair and aside from a few islands even I knew to avoid or was simply unfamiliar with we wouldn't be delving in too deeply. Well, not into the Ghost Zone anyway but there would be many water-like ghosts and specters in the area to watch out for.

At any rate, with that settled once Danielle revealed everything she found out during her own little adventure there recently, it was time to get ready to leave after giving Jason our farewells and transforming. After that, we simply phased through the floor and went straight to the lab. Once there Danielle gave me the Fenton Phone's she mentioned last night which on the outside looked to be little more than earbuds but I decided that to stay on the safe side I would spare some time to reverse engineer them so that we both had a pair. Danielle was surprised how easy that was for me to do and how much better mine looked but of course, I gave her the more advanced pair for her own protection. She rolled her eyes at me but accepted them anyway and stepped up to the ghost portal, ready to leave.

"Wait a moment Danielle, there's something else I want to give you..." retrieving a small but thick iron ring that was actually just part of some device I was working on, while I was thinking about it and I placed it on her finger over her white gloves and explained, "We don't know if there is any truth to the lore behind this ghost, but if it is to be believed then most fairies are weak to iron. If this is true then this ring should burn her skin as if it is poisonous. I want you to keep that just in case she gets up close and personal."

Glancing at the ring a few times curiously, Danielle nodded and patted my cheek to playfully thank me before once again waiting for me to open the portal since she was eager to get this over with. Not that I blame her, I wanted to teach that harlot a lesson for choosing the wrong young lady to steal the voice up. However, I must admit that it was going to be slightly unnerving to hear Danielle's voice coming from someone else. I could only hope that wouldn't stop me from ripping her throat out and returning what rightfully belonged to Danielle.


	12. Kelpie

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **I'm going to be borrowing a vague idea from the fanfic _"Running To The Enemy's Arms"_ by _"__deadlydaisy8o8," _ which is a great story btw that I draw a lot of inspiration about Vlad from, where if a ghost turns invisible or intangible they can often see other things in the same plane. In this case though, as far as other ghosts are concerned, they can't see anyone else that is invisible at the same time unless they're in direct contact or have some other way to detect them such as a special power or some kind of ghostly detection device. Meaning that the only invisible or intangible things that a ghost can _'see' _would be inanimate objects and not other ghosts. Also, I briefly mention something about Vlad wanting to be a father up ahead but let me be clear about this. I do NOT plan to introduce any children between them, least of all as a way to bring clone-Dani into the story like one of you asked me before. I have something planned as far as making their relationship more official but you'll have to wait and see what I have planned. And finally, I tried to finish things off again but this chapter became 9 pages long so once again I'll need to split things up. But at least we know for sure they've made it to the evil banshee's lair!

* * *

Chapter 12: Kelpie

* * *

Vlad's POV

With the tragic loss of Danielle's voice for a second time, that complicated things a bit again so while we were in the Ghost Zone together I instructed her to stay close to me at all times. Turns out I didn't really have to because Danielle kept flying in front of me like she was the one doing the protecting. Either way, as you can imagine we didn't try to communicate in any sort of roundabout fashion since there was danger all around us and we stood the best chance of getting to where we needed to go by keeping a low profile. Even so, I took advantage of this chance to survey the Fight Knight's lair more closely because according to my books on ghost lore its walls held a dark and terrible secret that I was determined to unearth because of its promise of ultimate power.

And the best part is, Danielle has told me her story with some slight reluctance about her encounter with the spectral knight. She even expressed her remorse and admitted it wasn't one of her most shining moments picking a fight with a being she barely understood. Then again, while the lair was real Danielle assumed its occupant was either a myth or long gone since she has passed by the castle many times without anyone attacking her to defend the territory. Danielle couldn't have known the real reason for that was because ghosts knew to avoid the place at all costs...

The dear girl was still a bit naive in that regard. Ghosts wouldn't avoid a choice piece of land like that without a reason because ghosts are territorial by nature and most search for the best place to stake their claim and would defend it, for lack of a better term, to the death. And the more territory or landmass you ruled over, the greater your power and respect or access to certain resources. One said resource being a stable portal to Earth which is why Danielle's hometown was under constant threat. Most ghosts still drew power and reveled in controlling or instilling fear in the living so until Danielle claimed the town as her territory or I did, the attacks would likely continue.

That is why I wanted to help Danielle become more powerful, I wanted HER to be the ruling force in this town because I had no interest in it beyond the fact that she lived here. It would greatly improve her confidence too and allow Danielle to relax and focus more on what she wanted to do in life instead of constantly having to struggle for approval and frankly fight just to stay alive. True, I could step forward and outright claim this land but that would be counterproductive and Danielle would never learn the value of asserting herself as the only other hybrid in the world and proving that we were superior to both ghosts AND humans.

I've made threats, shown what happens to those who cross me or dare to harm her, however, until I could openly claim Danielle's heart there would always be those who stood in our way and those who would try to take her from me. Thankfully this time the only enemy we were faced with was the banshee who stole something of Danielle's, but beyond her body going into shock because that ghost made her feel as though she was drowning to slow her movements, she is unharmed. That was a relief.

However, I should have considered the fact that while Danielle knew I had likely locked her out of MY ghost portals for her own safety, the one her parents built was still functional and she had easy access to it. And despite her accusations, I knew that even Jack and Maddie were bound to notice if I tampered with it too directly or in my opinion fixed the blasted thing so it would still remain shut even without a genetic lock...

_Wait, that means Jason should have access to it too. And so long as they didn't calibrate it to notice if someone is being overshadowed-_ shaking my head, I dismissed that thought because even I did not wish to mistreat the boy to that extent and use him as a tool.

I would if circumstances forced me to, however, I deeply respected Jason for many reasons and he has been a valuable asset as far as protecting Danielle was concerned or gaining insight about their upbringing that even she is reluctant to tell me. Besides, since I have shared my secret with him it wouldn't be a stretch for Jason to assume that I had something to do with the portal suddenly locking his sister out of it if his memory of tampering with it was minimal at best.

Returning my attention to the matter at hand when Danielle drew me from my thoughts by grabbing my arm when we reached the bridge that the ghostly prince she met told her about, I gently patted her hand which was still hooked around my arm and said, "Yes I see it. And I've been to this area before so deducing which island her lair is located should be easy. It's likely in one of the area's I know to avoid due to my earliest journey's here, I just never had a reason to come back before."

I shrugged before continuing, "Still, while I'm thinking about it we should probably turn invisible here to avoid most of the wandering specters we're bound to encounter in this area. Just keep holding onto my arm and once we reach the first island we'll see if you can sense anything given how you seem to still have some connection to your voice much like the telepathic link I share with my duplicates since they are merely extensions of myself."

To my surprise Danielle's eyes seemed to shine excitedly when I slipped into an explanation about duplicates, and she seemed eager to hear more but grew disappointed knowing she couldn't ask the questions clearly burning the edge of her tongue. After that, with a sigh she nodded and pulled closer to me, her green eyes narrowed and focused on the path ahead for a moment before we both turned invisible and resumed our journey and she glanced around in other directions every so often while I led the way since I knew the area better than she did.

It was slightly disconcerting how diligent Danielle was keeping an eye out for danger because it meant that she was constantly on alert, ready to snap into battle mode as it were. I could understand why she developed these instincts but the part that bothered me was that she had had to to survive so many unexpected ghost attacks. After all, by the time I learned she was half-ghost like me, Danielle was already using her ghost powers at a very advanced level all things considering. Especially since Danielle only found out she had them just after the accident with her parent's ghost portal while the development of my powers was a bit more gradual...

But while I could only imagine the pain Danielle must have endured, I was still secretly or perhaps not so secretly glad that I wasn't alone anymore. My curse became a blessing and Danielle's creation as another hybrid turned out to be another blessing in disguise because I loved her much more deeply than I had her mother, which surprised me at first, but now I knew it was because we were two of a kind in this world, the first and possibly last of our race. This made us unique, but it also meant we were forever barred from living entirely normal lives.

I could only pray that if such a day came when we could openly share displays of our love and not be shunned and scorned for the vast age difference, that perhaps together we could discover if we could become the proud sires of a new race of hybrids and they could carry on our legacy. This would, of course, be Danielle's choice, but I will not deny that part of me still longs to become a doting father and a husband. Because by becoming Danielle's one and only, that would banish my fear of someone more appropriate for her coming along and stealing her out from under me like Jack stole Maddie.

Speaking of stolen things, I had to stop Danielle from letting go of my arm when we heard a voice coming from one of the island's we were passing that was alarmingly familiar. There was no mistaking it, that was Danielle's voice. However, that little thief was only making this easier for us by showing off and when Danielle's throat started to flash faintly in response, mimicking the melody being hummed, it only confirmed our suspicions.

Still, we needed to be careful since the banshee was known to have traps in her lair that included more than her death song. But while I call it her death song, it didn't always have to be so. If this ghost prided herself in pretending to be a siren she likely delighted in luring attractive male ghosts into her lair to seduce and enthrall with the power of her voice that must depend on the power each stolen one provided. I wasn't sure how it worked but, either she gained more power by stealing more voices, or it depended on the voice itself which was at least the case with the one she stole from Danielle...

How the banshee knew about Danielle's singing talent however, I have no idea. Which is troubling, to say the least. She either had to have been spying on her without my knowledge or heard Danielle's singing talent by chance. The only time I've heard her sing was when Danielle did so as a gift after we watched the meteor shower together. But I didn't sense any other ghosts at the time, or maybe I did but was too caught up in the moment because Danielle was quite radiant as she sang to me.

If she wanted to become a singer instead of an astronaut I could see her dazzling the crowds on stage, her skin glowing in the stage lights. Not that I wanted to share her with anyone mind you but the fact is Danielle's voice was still beautiful in its own right even without the banshee using it to enhance her power. That being said, the banshee clearly wasn't try to hide and continued to _'lure'_ us closer to the island which seemed to be her lair...

It looked like an ancient forest with tall trees towering over our heads, thick fog snaking over the ground's surface, and small firefly-like orbs of lights dancing hypnotically through the air. And like almost every ghost's lair, this one was like a pocket dimension of its own with its own phantom sky above us where shafts of moonlight seemed to sift through the branches of the trees and cast long shadows on us as we landed on the unusually teal-colored grass which was damp with dew at our feet. One would almost think we were in a forest on Earth if it wasn't for the unusual plants we came across that seemed to glow with a light of their own and the creatures we saw deftly weaving between the trees.

I'm just glad Danielle had the foresight to provide us with protection from the banshee's magical voice which seemed to echo through the entire forest since I did not want to risk not being enough to resist the banshee's spell through force of will even with all of my power. I was definitely more powerful than this ghost as far as raw ghost power was concerned but since the voice she had stolen belonged to my beloved who is also quite literally my soulmate, there was a chance that not even I would be able to tell the difference and would be lured to my peril by her song. And if Danielle couldn't find some way to stop me from making a fool of myself and falling for the banshee's trap, that could put me in even more danger.

Still, that actually gave me an idea on how we might be able to catch the banshee off guard provided she didn't know about me and my ghostly persona as Plasmius. She didn't seem to go out much unless she got bored and wanted a new voice to play with and this region was so other-worldly even for a ghost's lair that I had a feeling that the banshee wasn't exactly up to date on who was the most powerful ghost these days, one of them at least...

Pulling Danielle aside, smiling a little as she looked around in wonder despite the reason we were here, I made sure I had her undivided attention before saying, "Alright Danielle, there's a safe bet that we've already found her lair or at least the island it is located on since there seem to be other occupants but I have a plan. Do you trust me?"

Nodding without hesitation which surprised me, despite myself I kissed her briefly for good luck then explained my plan to her. I was going to pretend to be another victim of the banshee's _'siren song'_ and distract her while Danielle searched for the flowers that contained the stolen voices. They had to be stored somewhere safe to ensure that the banshee couldn't misplace or risk damaging them because I had a feeling destroying the flowers would free the voices trapped inside.

After all, if those voices all came from stolen young women who were still alive or were once upon a time, they would need a vessel of some sort to be kept in outside of their human bodies since the banshee couldn't use more than one at a time. Whether the banshee could reuse a voice she has stolen before remains to be seen, however, my guess is that since Danielle is her most recent victim, her flower would be the most vibrant. That and Danielle would surely be able to sense her own power radiating from the blossom as clearly as she felt it through whatever connected her to the banshee...

Danielle nodded and seemed to agree with my plan but she still looked worried so she cupped her hands on my cheeks and kissed me again more deeply this time, screaming with her heart that I would be careful. Smiling into her kiss, I wrapped my arms around Danielle, pressing our bodies as close together as they could possibly go before finally backing away. We were both breathless but the message seemed to have come across because we both felt reassured about the plan.

Basically, Danielle would be following behind me invisibly while I _'blindly'_ followed her voice straight to the banshee's lair and played the part of a love-struck idiot like what happened last night. And once we were sure the banshee's guard was down, Danielle would begin her search while I entertained our unsuspecting host. That being said, I'll admit that I felt loved when a flicker of jealousy passed between us when I mentioned how I would be _'seducing'_ the banshee. To me, it would be no different than the empty kisses I've shared with women before when I was trying to forget about Maddie.

But even if I did fall under the banshee's spell if somehow my earbuds were removed or fell out, I was certain that I would never forget Danielle. Her kiss, her touch, those were unmistakable. So even with her voice, the banshee could never hope to compare to what I had with Danielle. Our love was deeper than any spell. Or rather, Danielle's love was a spell I willingly submitted to with every fiber of my being...

* * *

Danielle's POV

I had to keep telling myself that Vlad's plan was a good one even though my heart was aching painfully at the thought of letting anyone besides me touch Vlad. And it begged me to tell him to call it off so we could think of something else. I also didn't like the idea of that banshee thinking she had won any sort of prize when she saw Vlad stumbling into her lair, an obviously powerful ghost who was now supposedly at the mercy of her hypnotic voice. She would see that as proof that her plan to steal my voice was working flawlessly and that there wasn't anything I could do to steal it back if it was powerful enough to entrance someone like him.

That's why, once this was over, I don't care if we have to do it right here in the Ghost Zone but I was going to erase all traces of that ghost's touch and her scent from Vlad's skin. He wasn't the only one who could be possessive. I mean when we first met I was jealous of my own mother when I saw Vlad flirting with her even though I knew my crush was a childish one. At least, I used to think that.

At any rate, I was barely paying attention to where we were going aside from just following Vlad as he floated through the trees, ignoring my presence which I knew he still felt to follow the sound of my voice that the banshee was using. I scowled thinking about who or what she lured into her lair the last time we heard her song through me. I still had a bad feeling about this since I've been entranced by magic before when Freakshow was controlling my mind and I shuttered at the memory or even the thought of Vlad falling under a similar spell. We had our earbuds sure...

...but would they be enough?

I gasped in awe when the trees thinned to reveal a large glassy lake that reminded me so much of the one from my dream. The fog was swirling across the surface and in the middle of the lake, there was a huge willow tree and an impossibly large moon in the sky that made everything shimmer in its pale blue light, including the normal water lilies floating across the water. That's when I saw the banshee again near the willow, dancing across the water with her bare feet and with her was-?!

_Prince Dorian?! What is he doing here? Oh, this is bad, I need to stop Vlad before she notices him!_ Rushing to his side, I tugged hard on Vlad's cloak and he nearly stumbled back but I caught him and led him back into the forest and out of sight just before the banshee finished twirling with her captive partner. My heart was racing because this changed everything. It was one thing for us to go against the banshee but the only reason I found out what I needed to about her was because Dorian helped me to make up for acting like a literal dragon the first time we met.

Turning visible after pinning Vlad to the trunk of a tree, I turned visible and shakily grabbed his hand to write, **'Vlad, that ghost with the banshee is Prince Dorian, the one who warned me about the Kelpies and stuff. I know we lucked out and never saw any but please, try not to hurt him. If he's under the banshee's spell Dorian won't be acting like himself if you make him jealous and he'll probably turn into his dragon form! We need to think of some way to-'**

"Danielle, stop!" Vlad whispered harshly, pulling his hand away from my trembling ones and grabbed my shoulders, his expression stern.

Shaking his head as his grip on my shoulder's tightened, Vlad hissed, "This doesn't change anything. Whether he's here or not we can't stray from the plan. Because if we do the banshee will suspect something. Besides, unless she likes to see men fighting over her I doubt the banshee will let him attack me without her permission. In fact, she might let him go if I seem to be the better prize."

Loosening his grip on my arms when it looked like he was hurting me by mistake, Vlad's expression softened and he rested his forehead against mine after letting go and gently placing a hand to support the back of my neck. Then he said softly, "Take a deep breath and try to calm yourself, my dear. Trust me, I know exactly what I'm doing. As for your...friend, I'll do what I can to keep the banshee's attention on me instead of him and maybe if we're lucky she'll let him go. But if she does do something...uncouth such as trying to feed him to her beloved Kelpie's, then so long as she doesn't catch you doing it I'll let you save him before searching for those flowers. If you break the spell on him he may even help you. Does that sound fair?"

I nodded reluctantly, not happy about any of this. And honestly, right now I wanted nothing more than just to just fly over to her right now, shooting her, and ripping that stupid banshee's hair out! It was one thing when she was just messing with me, but now she was using MY VOICE to hypnotize and toy with a ghost who was actually trying to NOT be one of my enemies.

That's why I wanted to save him.

And while I did trust Vlad, I know for a fact that he doesn't care about others the way that I do. He might be able to ignore those who have nothing to do with us when they're in trouble, but I can't. Not doing anything to help even a near-total stranger still went against everything I stood for. So even if Vlad only really cared about me, I still cared about protecting others before worrying about myself.

* * *

Hating every minute of it as Vlad slipped back into his act of being irresistibly drawn there by the banshee's mesmerizing voice, I watched at she continued to waltz with Dorian across the surface of the water, totally oblivious to us for now. At least, until we finally saw one of those Kelpie creatures suddenly emerge from the water. And two more just like it appeared and blocked Vlad's path as soon as he stepped into the water, pretending to have eyes only for the banshee who was still singing and dancing with Prince Dorian and acted like he wasn't even remotely aware of the danger he was in...

I don't know much about Kelpies aside from what Dorian told me about them being these man-eating fairy horses that lured people onto their backs to drown them. But these were definitely in their scary-version mode as they tossed their wet manes and bared their short needle-sharp fangs at Vlad when he approached, their hooves disturbing the water as they stomped to make large splashing sounds and angrily snorted at him. I guess they were basically trying to warn their mistress that there was an intruder.

Their fur was a deep deep green that was almost black but their flanks had this mossy green look to it like an old statue submerged underwater covered in algae, and there was something like seaweed woven into their dark green manes and tails. Their muzzles were very skull-like too as if they hadn't eaten in weeks and were skin and bones, which honestly made them look more zombie-like than anything so how these scary things could lure anyone to ride them willing to their deaths was beyond me. Maybe it was their eyes because like the banshee herself their eyes were this terrifying milky white that seemed to see right through you, in fact, I swallowed hard when one of them turned their head in my direction and snorted as they stepped out of the water to investigate.

That's when after an eternity of waiting for the banshee to do something, she finally seemed to have noticed Vlad and laughed whimsically, calling out to her loyal pets with this creepy sultry version of my voice, "Now now, is that any way to treat a guest? Come, bring him to me that I might see who has fallen prey to my song this time."

My eyes widened when after that the Kelpies appearance changed so they looked more like beautiful black stallions or draft horses with long wavy manes and smooth flawless fur that glistened in the moonlight. The one who had stepped out of the water when they smelled something funny shook their head and turned back to the lake, nudging Vlad from behind who was hanging on the banshee's every word and didn't dare move in case he missed something she said.

_Oh, he's good,_ I had to admit as I watched Vlad climb onto the back of one of the Kelpies, not even flinching or showing a hint of hesitation when the beast's mane seemed to come alive and wrapped around his wrists to keep him in place.

Once mounted, the remaining two took up position on either side of him and brought Vlad over to where the banshee stood waiting, barefooted, with an amused smile on her face. They effortlessly glided through the water towards her and stepped onto the small island in the middle when she instructed them to while still leading her previous victim by the hand.

As for Dorian's condition, the poor guy was standing there in a daze, swaying slightly on his feet but when I floated closer to keep an eye on what was happening I saw that his eyes were completely white and glowing so he was definitely utterly and completely spellbound by her. At least Vlad still had the excuse of only just being lured there by the banshee's song so his eyes were only fixated on her but remained their normal solid red they always were when he was in ghost form. I just wasn't sure how much time we had though before she noticed something was off because it all depended on Vlad's acting skills to make himself more interesting than Dorian...

Speaking of which, wanting to admire her latest _'toy'_ the banshee turned to one of the other Kelpies and lovingly stroked their damp velvety muzzle with her pale slender fingers which they leaned into and nickered. Then, the banshee began smiling wickedly as she cooed, "Ivy, won't you be a dear and show our captive prince to his bedchambers? I'm sure he's tired from all that dancing under the moonlight and I may still have use for him so don't eat him just yet. But for now, I wish to admire this new handsome gentleman I seem to have ensnared. His aura feels so familiar and yet I know I've never seen this ghost before. How intriguing."

Stepping away from the Kelpie named Ivy, the banshee offered a hand to Vlad, all but ignoring Dorian now as Ivy knelt down and used their wet snake-like mane that seemed to have a life of its own to maneuver Dorian onto it's back before rearing and diving straight back into the water. I had to force myself not to reflexively follow them yet but I sensed when Vlad made an invisible duplicate who paused briefly to pat my shoulder reassuringly before they followed Dorian and the Kelpie to the banshee's underwater lair since this lake only seemed to be part of it. Relieved that he was going to let me know where I needed to go, I took a deep breath and forced myself to watch so I could wait for Vlad's signal to start looking for both Dorian, and the flower that the banshee had used to steal my voice.


	13. Banshee

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: Warning erotic and sexual scenes ahead!** I should stop making promises I can't keep because this chapter took a long time to get right and just be warned, there is some more colorful language and sexual terms, but the point of this chapter is to show Vlad's more...dark and seductive side to outmatch the banshee. The next chapter will focus on Danielle saving Dorian and getting her voice back. So yeah, hope you like the chapter and if you're not here for the sexy times then feel free to skip to the next chapter and just assume Vlad is distracting the banshee very successfully.

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Chapter 13: Banshee

(Chapter inspired by My Dark Disquiet by Poets of the Fall)

* * *

Vlad's POV

While I knew this was all part of the plan, I must admit that the banshee was a lovely creature in a different way than Danielle which would make this whole thing a little less humiliating. Even so, I felt my skin crawl in disgust when the banshee circled me, licking her lips as she admired my ghost form and traced her hand along my throat, my chest, and snaked her arms around the back of my neck while floating an inch from the ground, smiling sensually. "Mmm yes, the prince I captured is merely a boy, but YOU, on the other hand, seem like a real man who knows how to satisfy a woman. You have the voice of an impassioned lover, charming yet dangerous when beautiful lies pass your lips. And yet, you would never dream of lying to me now would you?"

Grasping her hips and leaning into her touch, making it seem like I craved it, I replied in a sultry tone, "Never...I would never lie to you, my dearest love. I would sooner rip my own beating heart from my chest."

Her eyes sparkling in delight the banshee laughed and ran her hands through my hair, purring, "Ah but that would be such a waste. I have a much better use for your heart. I can feel your power, it's so vast and wild, ready to lash out at your foes like a flash of lightning which is unforgiving and precise. Tell me, my lord, how did you come to find me in this realm of mist and moonlit shadows? What drew you to me?"

"I heard the most beautiful voice in all of the Ghost Zone and knew it had to belong to an equally beautiful ghost. You've captured my unworthy heart and I would do anything to please you if you would have me..." pretending to be overtaken by lust I leaned my body forward, my hands stroking her thighs, panting with the effort to resist claiming her without permission, "What must I do to become yours? Do you want me to kill the prince? I will happily do so in any manner you see fit if it means you'll be mine."

I felt Danielle inwardly flinch upon hearing me say that and I sincerely hoped this wasn't going to be too hard on her. Watching me seduce another woman, least of all a ghost, must be painful for her to witness. But we needed to be sure I had the banshee's undivided attention before I gave her the signal via the duplicate I sent to follow Prince Dorian to the banshee's underwater lair...

My earbuds were invisible since I didn't want them standing out and alerting the banshee to our deception, but I sneakily checked to make sure they were still in place by reaching up to pull on of the banshee's hands to my lips to kiss her palm. Because even though I knew the ghost before me wasn't Danielle, hearing her voice coming from the banshee was, unsurprisingly, turning me on because the truth is that I still did want to show Danielle all of the passionate love I had to offer.

So secretly, if deceiving the banshee to make love to me helped relieve some pent up sexual frustration then it would ultimately help both of us. Besides, if I could exhaust the banshee by being especially intoxicating with my seduction, that would also make her weaker in the event of a battle breaking loose.

Responding to my touch, the banshee gasped and snaked her hands down my arms, letting go of my hands while effortlessly gliding backward towards the willow and urging me to follow as she cooed, "Such passionate words you speak to a strange woman you hardly even know. So eager to kill and to please me. Yes, it would seem I have captured quite a splendid prize indeed. I tried to entice the boy to lavish me with affection but sadly he is naive in the art of love. Although he is pleasing to look at, you are a much more powerful and regal being, a vampire perhaps? Well no matter. Come, my love, come with me into the shadowed eves of my willow and show me how much you love me. Satisfy this ache that that boy could not..."

Adopting a foolish but eager smile I followed the banshee behind the curtain of low hanging branches and just before lifting my arm to part them, my duplicate returned and I instructed them to give Danielle this telepathic message, _"I will keep her busy for as long as I can. And I'm sorry, I know that must have been hard for you to watch but I promise you, once this is all over I will show you _my love_ properly. This means absolutely nothing to me. Do you understand?"_

Inwardly a flash of heartache passed through me as the duplicate cupped her cheek and Danielle nodded, fighting the urge to stop all this because even the idea of me being with the banshee felt wrong to her. But at the same time, I felt this overwhelming wave of love and trust before she kissed the duplicate on the cheek and flew off as if secretly fleeing the scene. Not that I could blame her.

Still, I hated doing this as much as she did but it was the only way to make sure the banshee did not suspect anything. And if I was lucky, once Danielle got her voice back, I could teach this bitch a painful lesson she would not soon forget and make her howl in pain, not pleasure because this seductress deserved none of what I was about to give her...

It was all for Danielle's sake.

* * *

"No one will trouble us here," the banshee sighed, lazily landing on the grass and reaching out to me, opening her mouth to sing a wordless song of seduction.

I was able to slip into my act easily by imagining the banshee as Danielle as I floated towards her, allowing the banshee to do as she pleased after drawing me close. Swaying erotically, the banshee danced and invited me to touch her so I did, assuming what her wordless instructions might be judging from how she was eyeing me. So first I unclasped my cloak and let it fall to the ground as I stepped forward and held her hips once more as she swayed, following her every movement while waiting for permission to proceed.

Floating up so that she could pull me close to her chest after sliding her gown slightly off her shoulders to let it fall half-way to reveal her breasts, the banshee gasped my head and half-asked half-moaned as her song trailed off, "Before we begin, I would know your name so that I might sing it and claim you as mine. What is it, my handsome sweet lover?"

"Vladimir," I replied breathlessly, allowing her to cradle my head to her bare breasts. She didn't have a heartbeat and her skin felt clammy and wet, but I ignored this and nuzzled my head as close as humanly possible.

"Vladimir," she sang, laughing in triumph, "Indeed that does sound much like a vampiric name much like that of Dracula of legend. Tell me, my dear, does the scent of my blood not also enthrall you? Will you be able to resist biting me?"

"Your word is my law," I replied, cupping her breasts with my hands and making her shiver. "I would never bite unless you wished it so. Your wish is my command, your voice is all that I exist to hear. Without it I am nothing. Without you...I am no one..."

I feigned a look of distress at the very thought of leaving her side and the banshee smiled wickedly, cupping my cheeks an making me look straight into her eyes as she ordered, "Then prove it. Make sweet love to me and show me the extent of your devotion and what passion you have to offer. Undress for me and scream my name. Do whatever I tell you to do and you will be rewarded handsomely, my love."

Looking confused I dared to ask, "But what is the name of the ethereal goddess before me? Tell me so that I might carve it into my heart for all eternity!"

"It is Keriste, the banshee who denied her nature to become a temptress whose voice rules over the hearts and minds of all handsome and worthy men who hear my song rather than only a harbinger of death. But you may call me Keira my dearest. And know that should you prove your worth I will not harm you. If not, then I have no use for men that do not satisfy my needs or grant me more status and power. So we shall see if you are one of the few I spare since I would not dream to deprive the world of such a fine specimen or one of many who have displeased me enough to be fed to my darling Kelpies..." reaching down, she allowed the rest of her dress to fall to the ground and phased out of my embrace, smiling sweetly as she showed off her curves before giving me my first real order.

"Now then, I want you to strip for me. And do it slowly so that I might admire you more..." the banshee cooed, her eyes raking down my body hungrily.

Doing as I was told, I reached up and slowly removed my gloves first, letting them fall limp to the grass. Then I made a show of it as I reached down to undo the belt at my waist, letting that fall too. The boots were a little trickier but I slid my hand down my thigh before lifting my knee to remove them one at a time and repeating the process with the other boot. Once I was down to my battle suit itself, I reached down with both arms to begin lifting it slowly over my head, purposefully flexing my stomach muscles and since the tunic was already concealing my face, I smiled triumphantly when I heard her moan heatedly...

"...yes, you look so very strong. Mmm, just watching you reveal more of your body to me is a delight, my love. Soon you and I shall be as one...you will be inside of me..." I couldn't help but scoff internally because it was obvious this ghost still had all the needs and desires of a human woman and hadn't found a _'victim'_ worthy of her advances so I was probably the best-looking ghost she's seen in centuries.

Which reminds me, given that she is such a solitary ghost I could only surmise that the only reason Prince Dorian fell under her spell is because that damned fool came here hoping to repay some debt to Danielle and got himself caught. Serves him right but still, it was clear she had been happy with the catch and looks aside she knew he was still worth something. She must at least know enough about him or could sense that Dorian had the power to become a dragon which is why the banshee didn't just kill him then and there when it looked like she found someone more manly and powerful to serve her as both a literal servant and a lover.

Once I finished removing the top, which had given me time to think, I carefully removed my pants next and allowed my thoughts to drift to Danielle herself and the promise to make this up to her later between the sheets to allow me to get hard. I needed to convince the banshee that I desperately wanted her body, wanted to fill her, please her, while all along it was only Danielle I wanted. I would just have to be careful and remind myself to call out the banshee's name and not Danielle's once we began making love in earnest.

As soon as I was fully nude before her, the banshee hummed and floated over to me, once again examining my body and caressing every supple curve of my corded muscles with her hands, clearly pleased with my appearance. This reminded me how Danielle asked me once before if I thought about making love in this form but what I told her then was true. I didn't want my more monstrous appearance to unsettle her. I know it's childish but even now I feared rejection or the look of disgust in her eyes seeing me like this or for my love-bites to draw blood with my fangs because appearances aside I was no vampire.

I moaned as the banshee lazily groped my ass, kneeling down and smiling as she licked the length of my shaft, laughing, "What a nice scent...and I'm sure you taste just as pleasant..."

Pulling me closer, she slipped my shaft into her mouth and began sucking, pistoning it in and out and pulling my hips closer each time she swallowed my girth. My eyes rolled slightly because I was enjoying myself and I thrust into her mouth too eager for her to milk my seed. My shaft throbbed in her mouth as I imagined Danielle's lips doing this much like my first fantasy that later became a reality which helped me keep up the maddening momentum.

The banshee wanted me to be rough and smiled around me, sucking hard as precum began leaking from my shaft. And before long I stiffened and shot a hot stream of cum down her throat which the banshee drank without spilling a drop, moaning as she drained it after a few long gulps. Smiling she pulled my shaft out just enough to lick it clean before reaching up to grab my wrists and pulled me down to my knees as well. I was panting but had a stupid grin on my face which also seemed to make her happy so the banshee leaned forward to kiss me and I could taste myself in her mouth. She traced her tongue across my lips, slipping inside to trace my fangs so she could avoid them and as the kiss deepened she pushed me backward so I was laying on the grass and rubbed her body against mine.

"Yes Vladimir, that's it, please your mistress...your fairy goddess..." she moaned between kisses, rubbing her hands over my nipples to make them hard.

Taking that as the signal that she wanted me inside, I waited until she raised her hips enough and then as soon as she came down I thrust up and impaled her, drawing a scream of pleasure from the banshee that accidentally came out as a shriek and the sound waves shook the willow tree behind us and sent ripples across the water. I paid this no mind and screamed her name as I pounded inside of her as fast and hard as I could while holding her hips. She rolled them around my shaft and rode me just as fiercely, dragging her nails down my torso.

"Ah ah AH! Oh yes, oh yes this is it, this is TRUE passion!" Leaning back once her hands reached my waist the banshee closed her eyes and moaned, rubbing her breasts and laughing, "This voice is the most powerful I've ever stolen! I may never need to use another for all eternity if it can bring me someone who can make me feel so alive. Yes, oh my love you make me so happy. Cum for me and ravage me more!"

Working myself into a frenzy I came again and pushed her back onto the grass instead which made her gasp as I wrapped my arms around her and thrust inside harder and deeper than ever and pressed my entire body onto her, secretly angry and hoping I could crush her by _'accident'_ in my embrace or cause the banshee more pain than I was causing pleasure. I despised her for gloating about the voice of MY lover she stole. I wanted to tear into her with my fangs and rip that lying throat out with my bare teeth but I resisted and focused on distracting her with my heated advances as I did as she wanted and used her body beyond the limit of any mortal woman to pleasure myself.

Because this was hardly about her.

I was doing this to buy Danielle time, I was reducing myself to this for her when I would have rather snapped this ghost's scrawny neck to paralyze her then I would rip out the banshee's ghost core out just like I had with Freakshow. It was tempting to do while I was busy servicing the banshee's breasts. Because all I had to do was just slip my hands inside of her intangibly without arousing suspicion and just ending this right here and now. However, I promised Danielle I wouldn't destroy the banshee and I was going to keep my word, as painful as it was to make love to this unworthy slut when my reason for living was busy trying to save one of the banshee's most recent victims.


	14. Hidden

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **To answer the last review, well, how do I put it? I wasn't planning to use the banshee for anything so...naughty, but rest assured that Vlad is, in fact, doing this willingly because it's all part of the plan. Basically, Vlad is pretending he's under the banshee's spell as a trick to distract her so Danielle has plenty of time to rescue Dorian and find the flower her voice was stored in via magic. Also, sorry in advance this chapter is so dialogue-heavy in one section, I was cramming in as much info as possible to explain more about what the banshee is the way she is. This chapter is pretty long too so sadly I need to split it, again, even though we've been trying to finish this up for several chapters. So if the next chapter rushes through the confrontation it's because I've been trying to move on for so long plus the banshee isn't really all that powerful so Vlad can beat her easily. Might help us both vent some annoyance huh? Lolz.

* * *

Chapter 14: Hidden

* * *

Danielle's POV

I didn't realize how painful it would be to actually watch Vlad flirt with the banshee so once I was far enough away, I let a few tears fall which became part of the water around me since I was following the path Vlad's duplicate described to me before it vanished to focus on keeping her...busy. I could only hope the sooner I got this over with, the sooner I could hold Vlad in my arms and get rid of this painful ache in my chest like my heart physically hurt at the thought of him being with anyone else when Vlad said I'm the one he loves. It almost felt like he was cheating on me, which is dumb I know since Vlad HAS been with other women who were more his age but still, I didn't think it would affect me so much since I trusted him and this was all part of the plan.

Anyways, focusing on the matter at hand, you know what's funny? In my ghost form, I actually don't need to breathe underwater which is useful so I almost had to laugh because it meant there wasn't as much danger of me actually drowning here. Well, unless I turned human because THEN there would be a problem...

Still, I effortlessly glided through the water as easily as I would have flown there and before long I found the underwater cave I was looking for. I raised an eyebrow, expecting the banshee to have a nicer lair than a cave given how egotistical she was, but whatever. For all I knew, this was just the path leading up to it. The opening was low and wide so there was plenty of room for her pets to swim into, which is why I kept an eye out for them since there may be more than the three Vlad and I saw. I was a talented flier but the water around me did slow my movements so I would have to be careful. Besides they're built for underwater combat and their manes, possibly tails, could be used to pin me down by wrapping around my body so they could viciously tear into me with their fangs. Which by the way is still creepy, for a horse to have fangs but then again...the Fright Knight's steed had larger ones.

I was still invisible but I was worried that the Kelpie's might sense my movements in the water so when I spotted two of them I ducked into a small side cavern in the cave and waited for them to pass. Sadly I was IN the cavern they were heading to and felt the water whoosh past me as they swam by with surprising grace and speed. And when I peeked around the corner to see what they were doing, I blinked when I saw something glowing inside of an opalescent bubble under the water that the two of them kept swimming circles around almost like it was some kind of old druid ritual.

Despite myself, I couldn't help but stare in wonder as the plant-like veins on the Kelpie's manes and tails began to shine with a pale green glow like the color of glow in the dark stars, and the light in the bubble grew brighter and took on a new shape. I felt like I was watching something ancient and forbidden and yet I couldn't pull my eyes away from the beautiful dark horses before me and unconsciously began to drift out of my hiding place in the shadows, mesmerized by that glow. I managed to catch myself and shook my head when they stopped moving in a circle and each Kelpie took position, opening their mouths which grew impossibly wide as the black flesh of their jaws seemed to stretch out like tar to reveal their fangs and they began tearing the bubble to shreds with ease and let the transparent substance fall to the ground.

By the time they were done, the light from before had finished forming and I saw what looked like a newly formed Kelpie. It was the size of a normal baby horse and flailed in the water a bit before steadying itself with a shorter version of their seaweed-like manes mixed with long dark green hair and the same algae-like texture to their fur. If it wasn't for the fact that this was a man-eating monster horse ghost, I'd almost think it was cute when the other two Kelpie's nuzzled the newest member of their family and knelt down to pick up strands of that weird substance again to feed it with.

I winced when its mouth opened to reveal fangs too and it tossed it's head around to rip it into smaller pieces before devouring it ravenously. _No wonder these things are so terrifying, I could only imagine what it'd be like if they were tearing into a person like that. I should probably get out of it before they notice me otherwise I'm going to be turned into murder-horse food..._

Backing away slowly, I kept my eyes on them until I turned the corner and whipped around it, not seeing it when their heads snapped in that direction at the same time, their milk-white eyes glowing and staring coldly in my direction like when you see eyes reflecting in the light of a flashlight in the darkness. They waited a moment or two before resuming their feeding session though and thankfully I never saw the creepy spectacle. Either way, that was not what I was expecting to find. Then again the banshee did raise these things as her loyal pets so it made sense that ghosts would be able to...create offspring through unconventional means. I mean, they're dead so that means they can't give birth so whatever that was it felt like a mix of their energy forming into a new being which probably took them a while to do.

I was relieved when up ahead I saw a rock formation that looked like it flawlessly shifted from a natural cave to something hand-carved and found some steps leading up into some kind of opening. I landed in front of them and started walking up since I didn't know what I was going to find on the other side. Plus the staircase was very narrow which meant there wasn't room for the Kelpie's to follow and I wanted to take things slow so I didn't disturb the water too much again, alerting the other one to my presence since I didn't know where it was.

By the time I made it to the top of the stairs, it opened up to what looked like inside of an Irish castle because there was literally so much green that for a second I thought I was back outside in that fog-filled forest. The walls were covered in a thin layer of moss that made the stones look like they were stained green, while the floor itself was completely covered with it which made it soft and springy like a carpet almost. Makes sense given how she liked to walk around barefoot. As far as the size of the room it was large and round with a stained glass window the very top of the chamber to let in the moonlight and the reflection from it cast water-like shimmers all over the walls as if this room was still submerged in the water.

There were crystals hanging from the roof as well, making soft crystalline sounds sort of like the pleasant hum of a crystal glass being traced with your finger as they swayed in a non-existent wind. That's when it hit me that this place looked like a hybrid between an moss-covered castle and one of those fairy houses I've seen people build that I've always wanted to make when we went camping while I was growing up but sadly my parents were always too busy telling ghost stories and taking us to places with haunted houses and things like that to hunt down said-ghosts...

Speaking of ghosts, I was so busy taking in my surroundings that I didn't notice Dorian at all who had wandered over to me and was staring blankly at me, his eyelids heavy and still solid white. Good thing I didn't have my voice because when I turned and saw him right in front of me I nearly shouted in surprise and staggered back from him. Reflexively he caught me but his expression was still empty and blank which had me worried. I felt so bad for him because he was probably only in this mess because he was trying to help me. That's why I had to do something to break the banshee's spell on him. But, what could I do? It was my voice that did this to him and the banshee had it so-!

I paused when something besides the sound of the crystals and the water in the entrance behind me reached my ears but it was muffled because of my earbuds so I decided to take a risk and pulled them out. That's when suddenly, it gave me an idea and so I gently placed them in Dorian's ears instead and he didn't protest at all. After that I could hear the voices more clearly, whispering to me earnestly from the center of the room. Following them after taking Dorian's hand, I stepped into the center of the room looking for clues when the voices insisted I go down.

Confused at first, I tried to phase through the floor but when that didn't work I sighed, tapping my foot on the mossy ground while thinking, and that's when I noticed a thin gap in the moss cut in a perfect circle and realized there must be a hidden room right below me. So I knelt down, reached for the small gap and tried to pull after letting go of Dorian's hand.

But I still couldn't get it to budge so was there a trick to this? I didn't know what to do and growled in frustration because I couldn't ask the voices what I was supposed to do. Thankfully, they kindly answered for me when I heard them say:

_...this world is a mirror of the other, to pass where others cannot, you must return to the flesh..._

_...we know what you are, we heard your voice crying out when the banshee stole it...you fear your nature sometimes but it gives you power like no other and it can help us. Please, set us free and use that power to fight the banshee..._

_...you must turn human and you can reach us, there is no time to find the hidden way, hurry...hurry..._

Since they had no reason to lie to me, I sighed and let my transformation rings form around my waist to turn me human again. It felt so bizarre doing that in the Ghost Zone but if they were right about this, about humans being considered the ghosts here, then maybe that would give me another advantage against the banshee when I joined Vlad to fight her. That is if we still planned to fight her provided that getting rid of these magic flower wasn't enough to stop her.

Closing my eyes, I basically used the same mindset I did when I phased through stuff in ghost form and gasped when the floor suddenly felt like it had been pulled out from under me with how fast it worked and I fell down into the hidden room I was trying to get into and was submerged under a small pool of water about the size of a small pond. I coughed and sputtered after lifting my head back out, pushing my wet hair back and wiped the water from my eyes just in time to see that the surface of the water was completely covered from end to end in those same glowing lilies in my dream which were providing the only light down here.

It was like I was reliving my dream because I could hear all the girls crying, whispering, feeling sorry for what they said, while others spoke directly to me and I had to try and focus on those as I waded through the water towards the small familiar trace of my energy or my spiritual energy I guess and cupped my fingers under the dimly glowing flower, my shoulders dropping in relief when I found it but...it felt weak, like it was wilting, and I didn't understand why. Didn't the banshee like my voice since it was so powerful? Because I had a power similar to her shrieks and a real siren's song or something like it according to Vlad...?

I was still considered my options when one of the flowers beside me started to pulse more brightly and spoke to me directly with a sad but gentle tone, _"It's no use, my child. You won't be able to reclaim your voice without the Seed of Remembrance. The banshee has yours with her now at this very moment. You see, in order to use our stolen voices, she must swallow the seed to use it in place of her own. But your voice is special. Even without the flower which held it captive, it is still connected to you which is how we were able to cry out to you in your dreams. If you can make that power remember its true mistress you can defeat the banshee..."_

Pausing just long enough for me to put my flower back in the water to pick hers up, the voice continued, _"That is why she keeps our voices trapped in these vessels, if not for them, they would return to those who lost them. Because each seed holds a small piece of who we are, or rather, who we WERE since most of us have passed into the life beyond even this world since our regrets were not enough to bind us to the Ghost Zone. Either way, I will happily lend my voice to you so that you can reclaim what is yours and free us. For too long we have lingered here, echoes of broken dreams, regrets, and sorrow that she openly mocks for her enjoyment because she hates the fact that her real voice is warped and distorted and its call can only control others so much as it's purpose was to lead others either gently or forcefully to their destined end. The power of the banshee predicts death, sees the hidden sorrow in our hearts, and in ages past it was the task of her kind to warn the remaining members of their human clan of _a death_ soon to come and to lull them softly to their death in sleep."_

Interrupting the first voice, another explained angrily, _"That may be true, but we've heard the banshee herself complain about how she grew lonely when none were left to heed her mournful song, her death keen, and one day she happened upon a group of sirens on Earth who were seducing a young prince, not unlike the one who is her captive now. That young man she saw that day reminded her of the lover she had left behind a century before when she ended up dying too young of _a sickness_, never knowing his touch beyond that of a fleeting kiss. So that's why her obsession with attracting men only grew after that because it filled the empty void in her chest where her heart ought to be. But ever since that slut stole my voice I've been so angry with her because thanks to her I never got to tell my fiance I loved him and he left me for someone else! Don't let that happen to you. Take back what's yours, including your man and teach that whore a lesson!"_

_"Hush dear girl, I know we all have our regrets and grievances but she will do what she came here to do I'm sure. But first, we must do our part to help her if we expect that favor to be returned..."_ the first voice said, opening her flower to reveal the glowing seed inside. _"Here darling, take my Seed of Remembrance and use my singing voice to drown out the _banshee's_. Should you defeat her song, your voice will return and your flower here will wilt and fade entirely. Leave mine be for now but please, free the others in case there is no time for you to return here and doing so will still weaken the banshee considerably. My flower will wilt as well should you succeed and reclaim your voice, so do not concern yourself with that. Do what you must, my dear."_

I nodded since I couldn't say anything and set her flower back in the water, taking the seed which was no bigger than a normal medicine pill. I felt a little nervous but something about that voice was calm and soothing, like a mother's voice singing a lullaby to her children, and when I finally took my chances and swallowed the seed I felt its power settle into place where my throat flashed before when Vlad tried to examine me with his powers it felt like I had swallowed a small piece of ice. It wasn't a bad feeling, just strange...

After that, I paused to fly up and drop off the flower on the floor of the room above along with my flickering one before I ignited my hands with ecto-energy, asking with the voice I was borrowing, "Are you sure this won't hurt you?"

The slightly stuck up voice from before snorted and scoffed playfully, _"Weren't you paying attention? We're the memories of voices, not the real ones anymore, but we want to return to our original selves whether they're still alive or long gone. So just get on with it, please. We want to go home..."_

Nodding, I used my powers to fill the small chamber with raw energy and I destroyed each and every flower in the immediate area as a result. It was kind of a bitter-sweet feeling, knowing that most of them belonged to victims of the banshee's from a long time ago, but the sight was breathtaking as each small light, or seed I guess flew into the air and darted around the room like fireflies or fairies dancing around me in delight before they rose through the roof and faded out of sight.

* * *

When I finally returned to Dorian's side and phased most of the water off of me to help me dry off more easily, he was looking the room as if feeling like a lost child who didn't know where he was but it was obvious he was still under the banshee's spell. I was sure the two remaining lilies would be fine outside of the water since they weren't really living flowers anyway so I set them aside before kneeling in front of Dorian, taking his hands in mine and smiling sadly, "Now I can finally say it, I'm so sorry I got you dragged into this. But it's going to be ok. I'll set you free too, I promise."

I hugged him briefly for some reason like I was trying to reassure him before taking the earbuds back out, setting them next to the flowers, and taking a deep breath, trying to come up with a song to counter the banshee's spell. I didn't know if the words mattered honestly, but I was sure the feelings behind them did. She wanted to lure men away, seduce them so they never want to go back where they came from even if it means they'll be fed to her Kelpies, lead them into darkness, so my song had to be about setting them free and leading them back out of the dark ages...

That's when it hit me, I knew the perfect song so I helped Dorian up to his feet and began singing _'The Voice'_ by Celtic Women. Seemed fitting given all the fairy stuff we were dealing with and Irish and Scottish spirits of myth and legend. I also started dancing too, hoping to mimic what the banshee did earlier to sort of give Dorian the illusion that his mistress was singing a new song. It seemed to work because Dorian effortlessly took my hand and led me into our waltz and I let him.

I was reminded of how it felt when I danced with Vlad the first time too at my parent's college reunion and I had to keep the emotion out of my voice thinking about what he might be doing now with banshee right now as we spun and I tried not to think of anything but setting Dorian's mind free. There was no music but the voice I was borrowing which was more mature than mine but still very pretty so I was grateful that whoever owned it before was a nice person who was willing to lend it to me so I could defeat the banshee. I could see a look of confusion flit across his face and before I knew it Dorian stopped entirely, blinking as his red eyes faded back into view before he shook his head, letting go of me and swaying.

"What's going on...? Where...am I? The last thing I remember was trying to sneak a glance of the banshee for Lady Phantom and then there was seaweed wrapped around my arms, flashing teeth in the water that dragged me under and drew ectoplasmic blood when I was bitten. After that, I turned into a dragon and tried to escape that way after one of the Kelpie's wounded me but then, there was a voice...and everything else faded away..." Suddenly noticing me, his eyes widened and he blushed, stammering, "Lady Phantom?! What are you doing here?"

Snickering, I crossed my arms and smiled, "I could ask you the same question, Prince Dorian. Also, before you ask, no this isn't my real voice, I'm borrowing one of the voices the banshee stole until I can get mine back and set the others free after they offered to help. Are you alright?"

"Yes...it would seem that I am now but, what happened? How did you free me?" Dorian asked, taking my hands in his, those red eyes shining with renewed admiration and wonder. "Actually, don't answer that milady. It doesn't matter anymore. What does matter is that you have freed me from the banshee's spell even though I came here hoping to repay you more appropriately for the kindness you showed me before. I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble..."

"It's alright, what matters is that you tried to help so thanks a lot Dorian. It's nice knowing I might have another ally in the Ghost Zone," I smiled warmly before getting serious. "Anyways, there is something you can do for me now that you're free again..." bending down, I picked up the two remaining lilies and offered them to Dorian along with the headphones and said, "I know this is a lot to ask since you're still a bit out of it, but can you keep an eye on these for me? If all goes well and I beat her these will wilt too which means I managed to get my real voice back and freed the one I'm borrowing too just like the others. Oh, and you see these two small silvery things in my hand? Put those in your ears and that should protect you from the banshee's spell this time. There's no time to explain what they are so just trust me on that. I'll take care of the rest but it would really help me out knowing that she can't send you in dragon form to rip Vlad and me apart, he's helping me by um...distracting her. Can you do that for me, Dorian?"

He nodded, taking the lilies after putting in the earbuds after a few attempts to get them in right and smiled, pausing to kiss my cheek to thank me since his hands were full, "I understand my lady, and thank you again for saving me. I will do as you ask and put your mind at ease by removing myself from the banshee's influence. This will teach me from wandering too far from the safety of our borders again. And I trust your companion has similar protection with these magical earrings but even so, be careful. I pray that you will succeed and return home safely."

"You and me both..." I sighed, waving as he wasted no time shattering the stained glass window above us with a blast of firey breath, which looked super weird coming from the mouth of someone so polite and soft-spoken as if he was one of those fire breathing people at a circus, but Prince Dorian smiled encouragingly and flew away after that and once again I was left alone with my thoughts. And sadly those thoughts were about Vlad doing more than just dancing to keep the banshee's attention on him...


	15. Duet

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: _Warning, more colorful swearing ahead!_** Ugh, finally! It's over and I actually managed to write a decent fight between them. I thought about having Vlad just beat her outright but thought, hey, Danielle needs a moment to shine in front of him so you'll see how that turned out in a moment. And since the last few chapters were extra long, this one is about average which suits me just fine. At least after this, we can finally move onto the next big event or encounter.

* * *

Chapter 15: Duet

* * *

Danielle's POV

I'm not gonna lie, I was absolutely NOT looking forward to how I was probably going to come across Vlad and the banshee when I got back. With any luck, they had already finished up their...session, or maybe I was wrong and he managed to distract her some other way by whispering sweet nothing's to the banshee to serenade her. Otherwise, I had a bad feeling I was going to come across them both while they were very VERY naked. I wasn't sure how I would respond to that and it would probably result in a catfight between myself and that stupid ghost which was fine by me. It was going to be super awkward either way though...

I was so distracted by my thoughts that I accidentally went back the way I came instead of following Dorian out of the shattered window which probably led back out too, and I heard the sound of muffled horse sounds in the water and whirled around to see that one of the Kelpie's had spotted me. It was coming at me fast so I swam as fast as I could towards the surface, swimming right past the cavern where the other two were with the new Kelpie foal or colt who also saw me and gave chase. The ones I passed directly were closer and I cried out when I felt something wrap around my ankle and yank me back and then slammed me down to the ground and planted their hooves on either side of me as more of their seaweed like mane reached down to ensnare me, their jaws opening wide again to reveal two perfect rows of glittering bone-white fangs.

I started to panic until I remembered what the stolen voices told me and took a risk. I was still underwater but if I was fast I could at least get out of their reach before I needed to either change back to my ghost form or dive towards to surface again. Letting my transformation rings appear again, I phased into the ground, which unfurled the strands of seaweed wrapped around me and the Kelpie reared, pawing at the ground angrily with their hooves, then I changed back, straightened myself out and launched myself at it to punch it in the jaw. I heard a sickening crack as I dislocated it's lower jaw and the Kelpie thrashed around while shrieking in pain and I took that as my chance to get the hell out of there.

When I took a chance to glance over my shoulder, I was surprised when the remaining two didn't come after me but instead stopped and began swimming in circles around their injured companion. At first I thought it was kind of sweet of them to care that much until I saw what they were actually doing which was lending it their power to heal that injury so as soon as I saw that happen I wasted no more time, not even when I saw its jaw snap back into place and the Kelpie opened its mouth to literally shriek at me before all three of them charged.

Thankfully it was too late and I broke through the surface of the water, relieved to be out in the open air again. They didn't follow me out of the water thank god, but they were still thrashing in the water and making huge splashes and honestly, because of the way they kept climbing over each other wildly like that it reminded me of those nature videos when you see a pack of piranha tearing into a piece of meat and I gagged at the comparison. Still, I made it out and I had at least a temporary voice so now it was time to face the music...

It was time to face the banshee.

* * *

I wasn't sure what I would find when I returned to the willow tree but I was surprised when I heard her shrieking instead with my voice and hurling insults at Vlad who looked bored at best at her futile attempts to break through his shield with her energy attacks. But at least they were both fully dressed. Even so, it was hard to ignore when she yelled venomously, "Liar! Deceiver! How DARE you trick me?! I will forever curse your name and you shall suffer the full wrath of my cry! The cry of the banshee which brings certain death!"

"Oh really? Now I'M the trickster? As I recall you're the one who assumed I was another spellbound sex-slave who would do anything to please you and hang on your every word like a drooling idiot. It never even crossed your mind that maybe I was using you for a similar reason and was immune to your spell. So I'd say we're even since you attempted to trick me first," Vlad sneered, his ghost shield still holding strong.

After that, the banshee shrieked and her features changed instantly, her fingers elongated into sharp claws, her body became thinner and more skeletal like someone who was half-starved, her dress looked more torn with bloodstains all over it, and her face...it looked more demonic. She was fast too and slashed at his barrier like a woman possessed, and that's when I snapped out of it and charged an attack of my own, eager to help teach her not to mess with either of us. I was almost done charging it when I felt that cold sensation in my throat again and remembered that the voices warned me that I needed to use my hidden power to drown out the banshee's voice because normal attacks would only get me so far.

Good thing I remembered that too because a moment later, the banshee reeled back, her face twisted in rage, then she inhaled a deep breath and unleashed a devastating shock wave as she sang loudly with only her vocals that even made Vlad stagger back and cover his ears, his shield cracking like a glass would like that joke with opera singers. I was worried that maybe the banshee's voice would be too strong for Vlad after a direct hit like that or worse, it might short out the Fenton Phones which meant that Vlad would lose the protection I gave him. And since I didn't exactly have mine anymore either I needed to act fast.

Shooting towards Vlad to get between him and the banshee, I raised my own shield and thankfully the shock of seeing me was enough to make her stop to stare at me with astonishment. "You?! How did you find me? Is that...is that bastard your lover?"

"You bet he is!" I smirked, relishing the look of absolute fear and disbelief on her face. "And we're here to take back what's mine!"

"That voice..." she gasped, recognizing it, "...that's one of MY voices! That can't be! No! NO! NOOOOO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

"I set them free that's what. I also set Dorian free so don't even THINK about summoning him to help you. You've lost, banshee," I laughed, buying time for Vlad to recover from the unexpectedly powerful attack that not even the Fenton Phones could withstand or filter out which sadly meant that they were now useless. I didn't know that at the time but I would soon find out. "If you surrender now and give me back my voice willingly, I MIGHT just consider the possibility of not kicking your sorry ass. So, what will it be?"

Glaring at me with such hatred that I could almost feel it make the air heavier, the banshee shrieked, "Never! This voice is mine and I will never give it back! I will not lose the power it gave me. And even if he wasn't mine this time, I will make Vladimir my lover and he will worship me with all his heart, mind, body, and soul before his demise once I've used him beyond his limits to satisfy me. Once I shatter whatever protection you've given him to prevent my power from reaching his heart, I will take him from you just like I took your voice! Because I REFUSE to be defeated by some worthless half-breed bitch!"

Inhaling again, the banshee unleashed another sound wave attack at us but I did the same while hoping those ghosts were right about me and thankfully they were because to my shock, a similar sound wave emitted from my mouth and met hers as we sang our ghostly duet. Her voice came out in white ripple-like waves while mine came out green so it was easy to tell whose was whose even though she was still using MY voice against me. I've never felt this sort of power before and it made me feel so alive, so thrilled, and yet as the banshee and I struggled to win our duel of voices, Vlad was behind me howling in pain as his ears started to bleed.

I could feel his pain echo through me but I needed to defeat the banshee or we were both doomed now that both Vlad and I had no way to block out the banshee's spells. My strength was also fading too and I felt myself being pushed back onto the ground in front of the willow, my boots digging into the muddy grass. So, mustering all my remaining strength, I thought of the one thing that made me feel more powerful than ever before and it was the thought of finally proving to Vlad once and for all that I could protect him too. I thought of how I felt when I sang to him for the first time and let my heart swell of that overwhelming feeling of joy and love and determination to never let myself fall prey to a ghost like Freakshow again...

As if those powerful feelings gave me a boost, my shock waves grew impossibly large and with a resounding boom, it blasted across the water when I hit a really high note which sent her flying and she crashed into the water with a huge splash. I kept going until I was absolutely sure she was down before finally letting up and when I did, everything went deathly quiet on me. I swayed then fell to my knees, barely clinging to consciousness as my lips unconsciously parted and the Seed of Remembrance that I borrowed floated out of my mouth just as another light shot through the air like a bullet and I gasped, my whole body shaking from the shock of my voice returning to me.

I felt Vlad's arms reach out to steady me as he knelt beside me, but my gaze was fixating on the banshee who was being pulled onto the opposite shore by her three fully grown Kelpie's who dropped her off there and nudged her with their snouts as she lifted herself onto her hands and knees. She was gasping and clutching her throat just like I had when she first took my voice but luckily the only remaining one that I borrowed was long gone so I smiled in satisfaction, feeling like we accomplished our mission perfectly.

I felt even better when she let the Kelpie's help her to her feet and she turned to us, her eyes wide and unreadable as she spoke to us in her real voice which was just as demonic as I imagined like a deep voice and a normal one warped together and she sobbed, "No, no, no. You cannot do this to me. I cannot stand another day alone without the comforts of a man's love, for someone to tell me my voice is beautiful. Give it back! GIVE IT BAAAACK!"

Her voice was cracked but it was clear she wanted to keep fighting, which was pointless since she could barely stand and had to lean on her Kelpie's for support. Still, the last thing I remember hearing was Vlad telling her, "You're pathetic. If you were really so desperate for affection might I suggest dating? Surely there's a ghost here who could stand your disgusting personality with or without your voice. After all, you are a lovely woman I must admit. But as they say, silence is golden which you might want to consider as well if the very idea of them being scared off by your voice disturbs you so. In fact...why don't I make sure you never have to fear them hearing your vile voice again?"

I tried to stop Vlad from going after her, tried to say something after he paused to kiss my cheek before gently laying me down on the grass and reached out to him, but it was no use. I was unexpectedly and severely exhausted from using that new vocal power of mine and I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer so everything around me slowly drifted away...

The lake, the willow, the sound of Vlad's cape swishing in the wind, the banshee's screams, everything just faded to black as the sudden wave exhaustion set in and I was quickly enveloped in total darkness, cradled by a bed of soft grass all around me which was as welcoming as any bed after such a strange battle with banshee that played out more like a bizarre singing contest. I could only hope that Vlad wasn't going to do what I think he was. Then again, if it stopped her from stealing more voices after this...maybe it was for the best even if I didn't agree with Vlad's methods.


	16. Promise

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: _Warning, descriptions of torture and mutilation ahead and some slightly sexy imagery!_** Damn, it was scary even for me to write Vlad being THIS ruthless. But the banshee was a psycho and tried to take him from Danielle while threatening to kill him afterwards, so that counts towards what he said before about showing no mercy to her if she did threaten either of their lives. As promised though he won't kill her, but given her ghostly obsession the banshee will soon wish Vlad had destroyed her then and there.

* * *

Chapter 16: Promise

* * *

Vlad's POV

Jason was understandably concerned when he saw me carrying his unconscious sister in her human form back to her room and noticed the dried blood under my ears, but I assured him that we were both alright or at least we would be after some rest. Truth be told, I may have miscalculated and grossly underestimated the damage that the banshee's vocal attacks could cause. So I had to hand it to Danielle, those Fenton Phones of hers did prove useful in the end and offered me at least some protection just like she hoped they would...

A shame she lost the ones I reverse engineered after likely giving them to that dragon prince to protect him from the banshee's spell, which was also smart since it removed the banshee's trump card from the battlefield. I was deeply impressed by how Danielle brilliantly leveled the playing field and truly in awe of her prowess since I've never actually seen her in combat up until now and this new power of hers was more devastating than I could have ever imagined. Danielle was by far the most beautiful, intelligent, and deadly creature I have ever seen and her potential as a hybrid seemed boundless. Her reflexes were much faster now and she had all the grace and agility of a jungle cat, it was positively radiant.

It almost made me reconsider my other plans because she was already so powerful in her own right. But then I had to remind myself that there was always going to be a more dangerous enemy out there and if today proved anything, it was that I was getting too soft. For Danielle's sake, I needed to remain the ruthless one to spare her from making the difficult choice of deciding which ghosts needed to meet their permanent end, and which ones need to be made an example of.

And the banshee, though I knew her name now, was one such example and I internally smirked at the memory of her downfall...

* * *

_After Danielle fell unconscious I wasted no time teleporting to the banshee and making short work of her pets. She was too weak to resist so I phased my hand into her chest as if to tear out her core and sent a painful shock of ecto-energy through her body that made her veins glow with the electric pink color of my energy as she screamed and thrashed. The banshee was too exhausted to unleash any actual counterattacks, but the high pitched sound she was making was like nails on a chalkboard which did make me wince a little._

_My goal there was to severely damage her core to the point where it would forever cripple this ghost so I lashed out and struck in strategic places so that even with her ghost healing, the banshee's core would never fully mend. To take it one step further, using my knowledge of biology, I also _'surgically'_ removed her vocal cords altogether. Even if this wound did mend, there was nothing left to replace and so this left the banshee eternally mute to the point that not even stealing more voices would do her any good._

_The look of absolute disbelief and horror on her face was priceless, and her devastation was painfully obvious as the banshee sobbed and rocked herself after weakly crawling over to her unconscious pets and curling up against the side of one. I could have been crueler and destroyed each and every one of the banshee's Kelpie's as well, but even I knew that these were rare creatures in the Ghost Zone and decided to leave them be. And besides, this was more than enough to serve a warning to others in the future. That I, Vlad Plasmius, would annihilate and mutilate ANYONE who went too far and caused Danielle any serious harm_.

* * *

Speaking of harm, I was concerned about how much energy this new attack of Danielle's cost her since she looked too pale for my liking as I laid her down on the bed to examine her. She was shivering too but then again Danielle's been swimming underwater and didn't have time to phase the water off after the Kelpie's chased her to the surface. Her hair and skin was still damp so I thought a warm bath would help. But first I needed to make sure Jason wouldn't interrupt so I placed a blanket over her and left to address him again since he was standing outside of the door, well, more like pacing until I finally came out again.

"How is she? What happened? Are you ok?" Jason asked rapidly, barely able to contain his concern which I found very touching.

Smiling fondly at the young man I said, "She's going to be fine. We successfully retrieved her stolen voice and she borrowed one of the other stolen ones to defeat the banshee. And in doing so she unlocked the full potential of that vocal power we discovered which she used to counter the banshee's cries in a ghostly duet. It was a stunning performance I must say and Danielle's quick thinking saved me when the Fenton Phones shorted out after the banshee unleashed a savage attack. You should be very proud of your sister, she did extremely well."

Raising an eyebrow, Jason sighed, half-relieved and half-exasperated as he looked me in the eye and frowned, "You didn't answer my last question, are YOU alright?"

"You needn't concern yourself. This is nothing," I replied, after turning my head slightly and shrugging.

"That's where you're wrong," Jason told me in a deadly serious tone that took me off guard so I turned to face him again and gave Jason my undivided attention when he spoke his next words. "I've been doing a lot of thinking since you two left and...Vlad, I love our parents but like I said before you might be the only one who can ACTUALLY keep her safe. Especially given how long you've kept your secret about being just like my sister. If anything ever happened to you I don't know if I could protect Dani's secret from them anymore if these things keep happening to her and that scares me. I couldn't even protect her when THIS happened or when she was attacked by those vultures at the reunion.

His eyes shining with the troubled tears he was holding back, Jason's voice cracked a little when he asked me sincerely, "I just...please don't go dying on us ok? You're like family to me to us and you've had our backs ever since that day so promise me you'll take care of yourself too, alright? That's all I ask. Besides, Dani would never forgive herself forever if anything happened to you. She cares about you very much and respects you so try not to do anything to make her sad."

"Thank you, Jason, I will keep your advice in mind but trust me, ghosts heal rather quickly and as hybrids so do we. I'll be fine and so will Danielle. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about better than anyone," Smiling, I then told him that now that this whole mess had been deal with we could contact Jack and Maddie.

I also wove a convincing story for him to relay to their parents about recovering Danielle's voice while informing them that she needed a lot of bed rest to recover from the ordeal so it would be best if she stayed with me for the rest of the week or perhaps even the rest of the month if need be. And that was partially true since I wasn't sure when she would be waking up and needed a valid reason if it took longer than a few hours or a day at most.

As for Jason, I informed him that he was welcome to stay of course but it was clear that he would rather be home studying. I gave him full access to my personal library however and let Jason know he could visit whenever he wanted, provided he called ahead of time of course. After all my_ 'forbidden'_ or occult books regarding the Ghost Zone and related artifacts were secure down in my lab or my personal study. Regardless, Jason said he wouldn't be leaving until he knew Danielle was alright which was fair enough so the rest was just a waiting game. So after everything was settled, I returned to Danielle's side and began undressing her to search for any wounds before bringing her to the bathroom to wash her off and help her warm up...

I found some red marks on Danielle's leg that looked like something had wrapped around it very tightly so I could only assume the Kelpie's caught her off guard while she was investigating the banshee's lair. I brushed my fingers across the injury very gently but Danielle didn't react so I was hoping it wasn't too painful. At any rate, to keep her warm and preserve Danielle's modesty in case Jason returned unexpectedly, once she was fully undressed I carried her in a cocoon of blankets to the bathroom and shut the door behind me, locking it for good measure, then sent out a duplicate to start the hot water for us.

While we waited, I strode over to the lounge chair over to the side of the restroom while carrying Danielle bridal style and cradled her close to me, listening to the sound of water fill the ivory tub as my duplicate returned to me. I cannot begin to describe how right it felt to hold Danielle close to me instead of that disgustingly sweet-toned viper. I felt tainting just thinking about how I used her to satisfy my lust for Danielle as a distraction tactic. That's why I wanted to literally and symbolically wash the banshee's filth off my skin.

Glancing up I saw that the bath was ready so I set Danielle down carefully just long enough to turn the water off in person and taking a moment to remove most of my clothes as well except for my undershirt and pants for now. After that, I brought Danielle over to the bath, unwrapped the blanket from around her, and laying her down in the water. My sleeves were rolled up but they did get a little damp so I phased the water off and once I was sure she wasn't going to slip without my support I began washing her with a soft sponge. It wasn't like I didn't already know every inch of her body but still, I caressed Danielle's curves and lingered a bit longer than I should have while washing some areas of her body.

I carefully watched Danielle's expression as well but she was in a deep deep slumber and hardly responded to my touch at all except for exhaling a couple of soft sighs as the tension was massaged out of her body once I finished washing her. I skillfully massaged Danielle's scalp as well while washing her hair and I lamented how much I secretly missed her long hair and loved the way it glided through my fingers. But no matter, it would grow out again someday and she would always be beautiful to me regardless. I felt completely content while treating Danielle to a lovely bath and massage even though she was fast asleep but even so I still felt the urge to be closer so I decided to undress as well to hold her close again in the bath.

I slipped into the bath behind her since there was more than enough room and created a duplicate again to wash me off as well before I settled down and held Danielle close to my chest, my arms wrapped around her shoulders as steam rolled off our skin in a fine mist. I felt much better after we were both completely clean and it felt right to hold her like this as my true love. For a moment I could forget what happened and imagine the two of us sharing a romantic bath similar to this but with candles and rose petals on top of the water. I shivered with desire just thinking about it and spared a moment to kiss Danielle's lips deeply before pulling away and deciding it was best to dry off now and get us both dressed in clean clothes.

There would be plenty of time for romance later, but for now, she needed to rest and frankly so did I because truth be told my ears were still throbbing a little but I had plenty of ways to treat that. As for Danielle's ankle, when I looked at it again while drying her off I was happy to see that some of the redness had faded so perhaps something on the Kelpie's mane had irritated her skin and it wasn't just red from how tightly it had wrapped around her which was a relief. Such a superficial injury was bound to heal quickly.

"You're growing up to be an exceptional woman Danielle," I smiled serenely after brushing some of her hair back once she was fully dressed again and sleeping soundly in her bed. "And your powers are growing rapidly as well my dear so it's only a matter of time until we can finally put those who oppose us in their place so they never dare to disrespect you again. Danielle..."

Resting my forehead against hers, I sighed and swore, "Please grow up quickly so we don't have to hide our love anymore. I want both worlds to know that you belong to me, that you are my other half in all things and we speak as one. I won't let anything get in the way of our love, not this time. I hated making love to the banshee but I did it for you and you are my true love, my soulmate, so if I have my way I will never touch another woman so long as we both shall live which with any luck will be eternally. Rest easy, Danielle, and when you wake up I promise I will show you the true depth of my devotion. A devotion that the banshee could never hope to understand since no spell could possibly create a love this profound it's almost maddening like the world grows colder when I'm not by your side. But that will change too. I promise. Soon we will never have to be apart ever again."


	17. Abnormality

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Alright, we're going to be skipping ahead a bit because we need to get back to the normal teen drama but there're some fun things in store for Danielle and Vlad so I hope you're ready!

* * *

Chapter 17: Abnormality

* * *

Danielle's POV

"Do I really have to drink this?" I asked in a weak raspy voice with a disgusted scowl on my face, eyeing the strange glowing liquid suspiciously that Vlad told me to drink that looked like the colored goop inside of a glow-stick...

When I woke up about half an hour ago, I swear to god it felt like I had the worse cold in existence because my throat felt so sore, hot, and scratchy. Honestly when I noticed how much it hurt I panicked a little and thought the banshee cursed me or something freaky like that. Thankfully Vlad knew the real reason behind it and managed to calm me down which was why he brought some of his special ghost-half medicine to help ease the pain and help me heal more quickly.

Turns out that using my new power like that while borrowing someone else's voice put a lot of extra strain on my ghost-half since it was rejecting the foreign presence inside of me. Which seems odd to me since it wasn't like that lady's voice was from someone hostile or part of a ghost trying to overshadow me. It made sense I suppose, but still, I seriously hoped that once I started practicing using this power more now that I had my real voice back since it packed a punch this wouldn't be a problem...

Either way, realizing I had a new power now, in general, made me really excited. Then again its always exciting for me when I discover something new I can do with my ghost powers. And I had a feeling that this one had a lot of potential if I used it creatively like some of my other powers. That's why, as much as I hated the idea of drinking this glowing stuff Vlad had given me, I argued to myself that if that was what I had to do to get better then that's what I would have to do.

Vlad knew what he was talking about when it came to our powers way better than I did so it wasn't like I was about to drink poison or some untested ghost-drug. He told me he's used this many times to help give his own healing a boost when it was needed but since it was difficult to make it was saved for emergencies. I guess he deemed this one of those times because otherwise, it might take me longer to recover from the combination of my voice being stolen and then using a new vocal power that drained me to the point of blacking out after only using it once.

It felt really weird as it went down though because it was so thick and cold, but thankfully it didn't taste like anything at all so at least that was better than it tasting like something gross or like actual liquid medicine. It made my mouth feel a bit numb which was a little annoying but hey, whatever works. Vlad also told me to avoid talking too much so I could rest my vocal cords which was fine by me. I was pretty used to the notebook method of communication which was going to be a little annoying but at least it wasn't absolutely necessary anymore.

Jason was relieved to hear that too and a little bit earlier he told me that mom and dad were beside themselves with relief that Vlad successfully got my voice back. They didn't bother asking how he did it and agreed to let me stay here as long as I needed to to recover. No surprise there. But I had mixed feelings about it when Jason told me he was going to head home soon to keep an eye on them since it kind of felt similar to how Sam and Trish have been acting as far as feeling a bit hesitant about helping me with all the ghost fighting stuff but they were too afraid of telling me they didn't want to be as involved in it anymore.

I could understand that but, it still kinda hurt because it made me feel like they were leaving it all to me when I still needed their help and moral support. I can't handle this all on my own even with this new power because these ghost attacks were constant. Anyways I know that's not what they're doing, abandoning me when I need them, but it still felt that way sometimes. Believe me, if it were up to me I'd join them in taking a serious break from dealing with ghost attacks since I'm getting sick of some stupid ghost putting me in these sorts of situations where I end up hardly sleeping for days and have to make up excused to leave a room to go stop them.

Before Jason got his things ready to leave he did tell us that he wanted to hear about what happened and would be staying one more night just to be on the safe side. And so, with Vlad's help, we told him the important parts like how Vlad planned to pretend to be under the banshee's spell but then we saw that she had already hypnotized the ghost who told me where her lair was and we had to change things up a bit. After that, we told him that while Vlad kept her busy and uh...entertained, I left to find those magic lilies and to see if I could set Prince Dorian free from the banshee's spell...

I wrote down what happened and smiled a little when Vlad looked a little jealous of me dancing with Dorian but hey, at least I didn't have to give him true love's kiss to try and break the spell. I even told them about seeing the creation of a new Kelpie which strangely enough fascinated them even though we all agreed that those ghostly fairy-horses were super creepy. Vlad had to fill in the gaps of what happened while I was gone though but obviously, he kept most of the details to himself and explained that after a while she got bored and wanted to summon Dorian back so the two of them could dote on her. But Vlad had had enough of her vanity and decided to drop the act just before I made it back.

Shortly after that is when I rejoined the fight and protected Vlad when the Fenton Phones weren't enough and the banshee and we sang a ghostly duet to the death so to speak but it wore both of us out, especially me. And that's when I blacked out and Vlad went on to finish her off I assume. I was surprised though when Vlad told us that yes, he DID teach the banshee a painful lesson, but he didn't actually destroy her outright like I thought he was going to.

Personally, I had a feeling that there was more to it than that. Still, I didn't see the point in asking what really happened at this point because as long as she wasn't a threat to me or could steal the voices from anyone else anymore, that was enough for me. So I decided to leave it at that...

Besides, Vlad kept his promise of not destroying the banshee unless he had to and that made me feel so relieved because for a second there I was worried that he was going to slip into his old habits of scheming behind my back. I could understand his reasoning though, I've had more close calls then either of us would like these past few months but that's just because I'm all that stands between the ghosts causing these problems in the first place and the people I'm trying to protect.

I've been doing this on my own ever since I first got my powers and even after Vlad became my ally it didn't change much because he was so busy all the time or didn't really care about protecting anyone but me. We've never really fought side by side and so far he's only seen me at my weakest, my lowest, and I don't want that to be the only part of me Vlad sees. The part that would die without HIS protection. Because I'm not helpless and I'm still standing after facing more powerful ghosts than the banshee could ever hope to be.

"Danielle?" Vlad asked softly, taking hold of my hand. "You seem lost in thought, is everything alright my dear?"

Nodding, I leaned over to rest my head on his shoulder and sighed before whispering, "A little. I just have a lot on my mind and I keep wondering, what's going to happen next? Will things go back to the way they were where you're busy with work and I go back to fighting ghosts by myself? I'm just...tired of the same thing happening every time we fix one of these major ghost problems I've gotten myself into. Sometimes, I just feel so pathetic and useless-" closing my eyes, I smiled softly and continued, "-or at least I used to. I'm just glad that I finally got the chance to show you what I'm capable of. I did my part to help fix this and I even managed to save you too for once, that makes me feel awesome..."

"Shh, shh, we'll talk about it more later once you've rested. I know you feel better because of the medicine but you mustn't strain your voice any further. It would be a shame if I couldn't hear you sing again," Vlad smiled, kissing the top of my head and brushing his thumb over the top of my hand affectionately. "But yes, I owe you my thanks for that. I underestimated the banshee's power so your added protection against her cries not only made me immune to her seduction spell and it also reduced the damage of her shriek. I was a fool to have ever doubted you, my dear."

Staring up at the ceiling, his brow knit in concentration, Vlad took a deep breath and admitted, "Even so, you're right Danielle. Something needs to change to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future. That's why I believe it's time for us to focus on honing your skills with my guidance so that you can protect yourself better and deter these ghosts from thinking you and this town are easy targets..."

Sitting up abruptly, I turned to him excitedly and asked, "You mean-"

Smiling brightly Vlad's eyes glinted knowingly as he nodded and replied, "That's right, once you feel better we will begin our formal training with your ghost powers as soon as possible."

* * *

When things returned to what my version of normal is, it was pretty obvious that something about me had already changed, everyone noticed it because despite people teasing me about going mute for a bit I didn't seem to care at all. I was in high spirits and I even apologized for snapping at that one teacher. Thankfully Mrs. Aston actually did feel kinda bad about what happened and asked Mr. Lancer to take that incident off my record because it was true that I was in class early that day and just overslept so she overreacted. Sam and Vallen both vouched for me to prove it and the teacher asked them to wake me up before class starts in the future so that doesn't happen again.

Speaking of which I told Sam I was a bit annoyed at him for not waking me up in the first place before the banshee showed up, but in the end, I was glad that he finally stood up for me. Honestly, if it wasn't for all the ghost fighting I got swamped with I wouldn't have been so tired because the truth is I have been studying late into the night to stay on top of things and Vlad's been tutoring me more or less on most of my subjects off the record.

I mean the guy had, what, maybe five or more different college degrees? I guess Vlad ended up going back and finishing college after his portal accident so that gave me hope that if I could pull my grades back up then maybe, just maybe, I would be able to get into college too. Vlad even promised he'd help me bypass the blood tests and such so I could become an astronaut if that's what I still wanted to do with my life. That made me feel a lot more hopeful than I have in a long time which is why not even the bully's usual taunting could get me down. At least, not until someone decided to shoulder past me while I was carrying a huge pile of papers for our History teacher and they went flying all over the place...

"Ouch, what was that for?" I frowned, looking up to see who bumped into me but then I stopped when I saw it was Trish, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

To be completely honest, I haven't seen her much lately so I wondered what was going on with Trish. Especially when she stopped answering my calls or texts beyond an occasional generic message. I was starting to think she was mad at me or something. So, after forgetting all about the papers, I put my hand on her shoulder and asked with concern, "Hey...what's wrong Trish? Is everything ok?"

Looking up at me tearfully, she sniffled and straightened up a bit before explaining, "H-hey Dani, I'm...sorry I haven't been answering your messages. Sam's too but I um, well, the truth is I started dating someone and he just-just-"

Narrowing my gaze I asked, "He what? Did he hurt you or say something stupid?"

Bobbing her head, Trish choked out, "Yeah, he just dumped me because of something I corrected him about. He called me a know-it-all and said that pretty girls shouldn't act smarter then they are because it makes everyone else look stupid, including him."

"That asshole!" I snarled, my eyes flashing green in anger. "Do you want me to tell him off for you? Because that's just stupid! He shouldn't dump you just for being smarter than him, you're one of the most clever and beautiful girls I know so he doesn't know what he's missing! Don't let him put you down like that because you're better than this Trish. You deserve someone who respects you."

Trish couldn't bring herself to say anything else so I instead of pressuring her I hugged my friend briefly then started reaching for the papers that went flying earlier. I wanted to stay and cheer her up but I needed to get back to class asap. After that, she helped me grab the last few and added them back to the pile too and we smiled at each other. She was still one of my best friends after all and I wanted her to know I still had her back.

Since we still wanted to talk though, Trish helped carry half of the papers for me and as we walked to class together she filled me in on the details of what happened and what she's been up to now that she had calmed down a bit. I've been wondering where Trish was and what she's been up to since before the whole banshee voice-stealing thing happened. I guess Sam knew more about it then I did but that's because I've been so busy fighting ghosts and recovering lately.

I felt guilty for being so out of the loop and not spending enough time with my best friends so I told her that after school I would treat them both to shakes at the Nasty Burger and we could catch up more there. I mean, I'm sure Vlad wouldn't mind if I hung out with my friends today since we were still working on scheduling my training sessions with him between school and him overseeing things at Axion Labs...

Speaking of which, things were going really well for Vallen's dad there so I've been seeing a lot more of him around school lately. Especially since he was able to quit his part-time jobs when things got a little tight for them when the business was almost bought out by someone else and they started laying people off. I had a feeling Vlad might have had something to do with it so he could swoop in and _'save'_ their jobs and the lab itself but I could be wrong.

Either way, while Vallen wasn't acting like a rich snob anymore like he used to when hanging out with the popular kids at our school, I've caught him staring and we've smiled at each other but in my mind, we were just unofficial friends since we didn't really hang out. Sam wasn't happy about it but then again he had a bit of a grudge against the former bully since Vallen did give us a hard time before, I admit.

Still, I kinda wish that Sam and Trish could get to know him more too because he really was a cool guy. And that's when I had the bright idea of trying to set him up with Trish! Oh, they would make the cutest couple and both of them were really smart so Vallen wouldn't do anything as idiotic as dump her for being _'too smart.'_

But first things first I wanted to help Trish feel better before messing with her love-life. Especially since my own was far from perfect. After all, Vlad and I didn't exactly have what you might call a normal relationship. I wanted to talk to them about that too because lately Vlad's been acting a bit more...possessive than I'm used to and believe me, I know exactly how possessive he can be already. It's just a feeling I have that keeps nagging at the back of my mind about how something felt off about the way he's been acting lately.

Sometimes it almost seemed like Vlad's smile is a bit too bright or his eyes would shine with this burning desire that made me feel a little flustered and hot under the collar because when he looks at me like that I can almost sense his sensual thoughts. There was something...abnormal about the way Vlad treated me sometimes. I mean, I was flattered sure, but the intensity of his gaze, his need to protect me at any cost, it was starting to worry me. Especially given how he has already gone to such lengths just to be close to me in every aspect of my life...

Vlad comes over to dinner at my house whenever he can to stay in my parents good graces even though my dad annoys him; he lets Jason use his personal library at the manor as a quiet place to study when its too noisy at home even though I can tell he wants to spend a night alone with me which we haven't been able to do since I recovered from losing my voice; and finally Vlad has even picked me up from school a few times in a sport's car instead of his limo and people were starting to talk about me and my _'cool rich uncle.'_

And let's not forget how Vlad spent MONTHS trying to take over Axion Labs just to have an excuse to be here in Amity Park that in everyone else's eyes had nothing to do with me. Then there's the fact that Vlad gave Vallen's dad his job back as head of security after the former owner fired him because of the whole Cujo incident so that Vallen wouldn't hold a grudge against me. You know, back when he thought that Cujo was MY ghost dog when he saw us together several times while I was in ghost form trying to get rid of the green fuzzball. He's a sweetheart but it's still not a good idea to make him mad so I'm lucky Cujo adores me so much.

So anyway, what I mean to say is that I know Vlad used to have a thing for my mom and for years he did a lot of plotting to take her from my dad and get away with it, but what he's done to be close to me and win my heart makes that twenty-year revenge plot at the reunion seem like nothing at all...

It's been almost half a year now since I met Vlad, and during that time he's done so much for me, for better or worse. And in order to become my one true love, Vlad has done then he ever did to win my mom's heart. With all that in mind though I could only hope I stood a better chance of setting Trish and Vallen up then I did figuring out what Vlad saw in me that was worth him spending so much time to do any of those things. And more importantly, figure out if I was doing Vlad any good after all or if I've become his new single-minded obsession in life like my mom was.


	18. Inviting

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

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Chapter 18: Inviting

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Danielle's POV

"I still can't believe you didn't tell us you were dating someone," Sam commented, sounding a little annoyed by the news, but after hearing what happened he shrugged it off and both of us did everything we could to cheer Trish up.

"I know, I'm sorry..." Trish sighed, taking another sip of her shake, "I didn't know how to tell you guys without making a big deal of it or risking the chance of him finding out Dani's secret if I started bringing him to eat lunch with us at school so I started making up excuses or meeting up with him after school while Dani was usually off fighting ghosts. I wasn't even sure what you were up to Sam but you seemed busy so I felt left out and decided to do something better with my time since we couldn't hang out much. It was selfish of me not to say anything but I just-"

Sighing heavily, I leaned back in my seat and cut her off by saying, "No, it's my fault. I should have known nothing was going to change after I got my voice back and so more ghosts kept showing up and you guys already told me you need a break from it, I just haven't had time between studying with Vlad to catch up on my school work and fighting ghosts to spend time with you guys so I'm the one who wasn't being a good friend. I don't blame you for wanting to do your own thing, Trish, I just wish you told us so I didn't have to worry about you suddenly hating me or something. I haven't exactly been a good friend either so its no wonder you kept it to yourself. I just wish you chose someone who respected you more than that asshole who dumped you."

Leaning forward again, I put my hand on her shoulder and smiled, "I just want you to be happy Trish. That's all I care about."

Smiling back Trish nodded, "Thanks, Dani. And you're right, I should have known he was bad news from the start but I was starting to get desperate for a distraction when he started hitting on me so..." her smile fading, she took a deep breath and shook her head, "You know what? Screw that guy! He wasn't that good looking anyway and always made me pay for my own food during our dates anyways. Who does that? I don't mind splitting the bill but seriously! What a dick move..."

"What's his name anyway? You never told us," Sam pointed out, smirking wickedly, "If you know his name and birthday I can totally try hexing him for you. While you guys were busy I've been doing a lot of research after what happened with the ghost that turned out to be a banshee and it made me wonder if there's any magic I could learn that could work against them. I mean Desire is a genie ghost and Freakshow had that spooky staff so why not? I bet I could totally become a real warlock! So what do you say, Trish? Want me to cuuuurse him so he'll never find love or get laid again?"

We both busted out laughing when Sam waved his hands in the air for dramatic effect and then started talking about ways to curse Trish's ex-boyfriend. Even though we weren't actually going to do anything like that it seemed to cheer her up which made Sam and I both happy. It seemed like things were finally at least somewhat normal between us again. At least, until my phone started buzzing in my pocket and two things happened at once.

First off, I saw that I had a text from Vallen and second I saw that I'd missed three calls from Vlad while we were talking and winced. _Shit, I forgot to tell Vlad I was coming here after school instead of his mansion for our first ghost-power training session. I hope he's not doing anything reckless. Also, when did I give Vallen my number? We've talked through messenger before but-_

"Sorry guys, I've got to go but call me later ok? I want to see if we can do something together like catch a movie or go to the arcade. See ya at school tomorrow!" Hastily waving them goodbye I snapped my phone open as I rushed out the door without noticing that I accidentally called Vallen instead of Vlad.

As soon as they answered I panicked and said, "Hey Vlad, sorry I forgot to call but I totally have a good explanation for-"

_"Vlad? As in dad's boss? I think you called me by accident, this is Vallen,"_ I screeched to a halt, blushing like mad and muttered an apology but Vallen took it in stride and laughed. _"Relax, it was an honest mistake. Besides, I wanted to talk to you anyway. I guess you and your family are really are close to him, _aren't_ you? I'm not surprised, I saw Mr. Masters talking to my dad the other day and he really is a cool guy. Truth be told, I never really got the chance to thank you properly for getting him in touch with my dad when he lost his job because of those two spooks that broke into Axion Labs a few months back. I owe you big time for that."_

I was about to tell him he didn't owe me a thing, but Vallen asked me to let him finish so I sighed and agreed to listen as he continued, _"At first I thought it was just lip service when you and your friends randomly showed up at my house and offered to help when we had to sell everything and move out, but it turns out that you really did want to help. I couldn't understand why at first but...I get it now. You've had to deal with ghosts your whole life before any of us knew they were real so you knew exactly what I was going through. I took that for granted before but now, I want to do something to pay you back for being such a good friend to me even though I used to be such a jerk before. I was out of town but when I heard a ghost stole your voice I felt bad for not being there to support you. I'm just glad Mr. Masters was there and taught that spook a thing or two! Anyways the point is...um...well if it's ok with you I'd like to start hanging out more. I know we chat online and stuff but I really want to get to know you better."_

For a second it felt like time had stopped when I realized what Vallen was implying because even I wasn't that naive but, that would ruin everything! I don't want him to start dating me when Trish just broke up with someone, she'd see that as a huge betrayal. But if I tried setting Vallen and Trish up, wouldn't he start thinking I didn't like him and was forcing him on my best friend? The worst part though was that I was already technically dating Vlad but I couldn't tell anyone that, it would cause a scandal for him and my parents would forbid me from seeing him anymore and I didn't want that. Either way, I understood Vallen's feelings were genuine and honestly if I wasn't dating Vlad...well, to be honest, I did think Vallen was kind of hot and he was easy to talk to surprisingly.

Still, I had to let him down gently with the truth so after taking a deep breath I explained, "Listen, I think I know what you're implying and I'm flattered but right now really isn't the best time. You see my best friend Trish just went through a bad break up and I don't want her to feel like I'm dating someone behind her back. Don't get me wrong, I do want to hang out more but my life is...extremely complicated right now and I can barely find the time to hang out with Sam and Trish these days because I'm so swamped. And I really like you too, but, all that aside I don't want you to get hurt because of all the ghosts that seem to come after me constantly and- please understand."

Stopping to lean against the wall of a nearby building, to my surprise my voice grew thick with emotion and tears trailed down my cheeks as I continued, "I've had a lot of close calls the past few months and so have my friends and family. That's why I can't guarantee anyone's safety around me even though I try so hard to. My parent's inventions help sometimes but the root of the problem is they can't get rid of all these ghosts in town by themselves. I wish there was a way to reduce their numbers but there isn't, even Dani Phantom can't do it all on her own. Maybe Vlad can do something about it but he's a busy man too so just...give me some time ok? I do want to become closer friends but I can't promise anything else. I can't..."

_"Whoa whoa, it's ok Dani, don't cry. I didn't know things were that bad,"_ Vallen blurted out, not expecting me to break down like this. And frankly, I hadn't expected it either. _"It's going to be ok. My dad's actually working on something big that Mr. Masters commissioned that might help with that so maybe once its finished that will help you feel safer at school. Anyways, I completely understand if we can only be friends. But Dani, you really do mean a lot to me so I want to protect you too. I'm not sure how yet but I'll figure something out. So don't worry so much ok? Besides, you know I can handle myself. If any ghost messes with me this time I'll kick their ass!"_

Smiling warmly I nodded and said, "Thanks Vallen. I appreciate the thought but trust me, ghost fighting isn't as easy as my parents or Dani Phantom makes it look so you're better off leaving it to professionals. Anyways I've got to go but I'll call you sometime ok? I'm trying to set up something this weekend with my friends so if you're free maybe you could join us? I'd like for them to get to know you too."

_"Are you sure that's ok? I thought Sam hated me,"_ Vallen admitted but I just snickered,

"Don't let the goth act fool you, Sam doesn't hate all of humanity, just figureheads and politicians mostly or people who cut down rain forests. I'm sure Sam and Trish will warm up to you just like I did. Besides, maybe you can help us dig up some dirt on the dumbass who dumped Trish. From what she told us it was one of the popular kids," I started to relax a little bit after that and despite trying to end the call Vallen and I ended up chatting for the next hour or so before he finally had to leave to start dinner with his dad so we said goodbye and hung up.

I smiled to myself after closing the phone but then I saw what time it was and panicked. I forgot to call Vlad again and it was way past our usual study session time so after hastily ducking further into the alleyway and making sure the coast was clear, I transformed and flew straight to his mansion after leaving him a message apologizing for being so late. How could I have been so careless? Vlad was probably freaking out right about now thinking I'd been kidnapped again or was lying in a ditch somewhere bleeding after a ghost fight and crawling back to safety.

I called my parents too just to be safe and told them I was running late heading to Vlad's but thankfully my dad was pretty chill about it and said Vlad could drive me home before curfew. And if we were a little late that was ok since Jason was home and could let me us in since he was, surprisingly, out on a date with mom tonight. That was news to me but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth so I thanked him and then braced myself for whatever harsh words Vlad might have in store for me for making him worry when I didn't let him know what I was up to...

* * *

Do you know what's even worse than someone outright yelling at you? It's when you know they're mad but they keep acting like nothing is wrong from the moment you walk in the door. It's like they know why you were late but are waiting to hear your excuses before guilt-tripping you. And with Vlad it was even more terrifying since he made a living off of scaring people with his expert manipulation, clever words, charm, and straight-up cold fury masked by a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. But right now he was being eerily calm and composed as he opened the door for me and indifferently told me I was late.

I swallowed hard, following him inside after setting my backpack down by the door, jumping slightly when it closed behind me with a soft click. I turned around, planning on swallowing my fear to explain myself when Vlad closed the distance between us and hugged me tightly. I could feel the tension evaporate from his shoulders as his worries subside and I felt this sense of...pent up emotions from trying not to panic and go running around looking for me. That's when it hit me that Vlad was trying to trust me more and this hit him pretty hard when I didn't call him back until much later.

Well, if his intention was to soften me up instead of guilt-tripping me, it was working because I exhaled a shaky breath too and hugged him back, enjoying his warmth for several minutes. It felt like neither of us wanted to let go so I blushed and averted my gaze while explaining why I was late.

"Um, Vlad? I'm sorry I missed your calls. That seems to be a trend lately. Anyways, this is what happened. Earlier today I was on my way to class with some papers and ran into my friend Trish, she was upset because some asshole dumped her and I wanted to cheer her up by treating her and Sam to shakes. I know I totally spaced about our plans to start training with my powers today but helping her seemed more important and I lost track of time. I meant to call you before heading over to the Nasty Burger after school I swear! Oh, and I did fight a few ghosts today but that's not what held me up. Besides, I actually did pretty good, see?" Letting go of him so I could move more easily I turned around in a full circle, beaming as I happily proclaimed, "Not a scratch on me today!"

"I can see that," Vlad smiled, reaching over to tuck some hair back behind my ear, "In the future though please keep me informed of where you are or plan to be if something unexpected happens so I don't have to find out through unconventional means. When you didn't answer my third call I decided to use one of my inventions to track your phone so I know you were indeed at the Nasty Burger. I left it at that however since I didn't want to invade your privacy in the first place and trusted that you would explain why you didn't show up at the appointed time we set up beforehand. I know things often get delayed from fighting ghosts but..."

Trailing off, Vlad sighed, "At any rate, I'm afraid we'll have to cancel our training session. Since you were absent for the past two hours I set aside for that, unfortunately, I wasn't able to delay my latest business meeting any longer and am expecting a call soon. I apologize for making you wait for me when you've only just arrived, but if you wouldn't mind waiting, I would be more than happy to treat you to dinner tonight once I'm finished to make up for it. I already heard from your parents that they're out on a...date of sorts. And your brother Jason informed me that he has an important essay due tomorrow so sadly he won't be joining us this evening. It will just be the two of us." Stepping closer to me Vlad leaned forward and whispered sensually in my ear, his heated breath sending shivers of desire down my spine, "Mmm, I wouldn't mind if you decided to stay the night Danielle. It may be well past your curfew by the time we finish _'visiting'_..."

I gasped when Vlad nibbled my earlobe gently and I backed away from him, brushing my fingers across the sensitive flesh and blushing bright red as I huffed, "If this is your idea of revenge for making your worry when I didn't answer your calls that's just plain mean Vlad. You know how much I-how much we want to...do it again. So fine, I'll wait but you're going to pay for making me so flustered."

"Is that a challenge my dear?" Vlad cooed, resting a hand on his chin thoughtfully as I rolled my eyes and brushed past him.

I didn't answer him directly since it was clear he was only teasing me. Besides, I couldn't stay mad when Vlad looked at me like that, not even when he started laughing and told me I was free to do as I wished until he returned so I decided to go for a short flight out back. It would help cool my head. I wasn't going far, I was just going to circle overheard, but my mind was already a million miles away trying not to think of all the things I wanted to do to him as payback for making me feel this hot and bothered. It hardly seemed fair. So if Vlad wanted to play those sorts of games with me, well, two could play that game...


	19. Unabashed

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **In response to your last review _"GiselleVera"_ I just want to say that Vlad has his ways but he's not obsessively spying on Danielle the same way he spied on normal Danny in the show, he keeps tabs on her sure but when he does stuff like this its more of a worse-case-scenario sort of deal. So in short, no, he doesn't have her phone bugged. Normally Vlad would send his vultures to check on her but since that triggers her ghost sense and she doesn't like it when his minions spy on her Vlad uses those spy camera things instead sometimes or hacks into her phone just long enough to find out where she might be since she rarely goes anywhere without it even while in ghost form.

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Chapter 19: Unabashed

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Vlad's POV

To be perfectly honest, while I didn't show it I was fairly upset with her when Danielle didn't make it in time for our first training session. Not to mention irritated by the fact that she prioritized her friends over at least contacting me to let me know she was going to be late. But knowing how busy she's lately, which made it hard for Danielle to spent time with me or her friends, I suspected something like this was bound to happen, unfortunately.

Still, after confirming that she wasn't in any real danger I decided not to blow things out of proportion since it wouldn't solve anything. Besides which Danielle has been putting a lot more unnecessary pressure on herself again recently so the last thing I wanted to do was scold her too harshly for an honest mistake like losing track of time like her parents would have. At the same time, however, I couldn't let this go unpunished. That's when the more sinister side of me decided to playfully torment Danielle a little by enticing her with a few suggestive hints and a few soft fleeting touches in just the right places...

That was enough punishment for now though so after that I resumed my professional demeanor so I could finish smoothing out the details of my current business project with Axion Labs before Danielle and I would have the rest of the evening to ourselves. At least that gave me something to look forward to once this meeting was over. And sure enough, it felt like no time had passed at all before the call ended and I glided out of my private office in high spirits, ready to treat Danielle to an exquisite dinner.

It didn't take long for me to locate Danielle sitting upside down on one of the lounge chairs in the main hall, sighing and clearly bored. Smiling, I strolled over to her and floated just high enough off the floor so that I was directly above her as I asked, "Are you ready to go my dear?"

Confused, Danielle looked up at me, sitting upright again with some effort after I landed on my feet again then replied, "Go? As in...out?"

"Don't you want to?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well yeah but...when you said you were going to treat me to dinner I thought you meant that your private chef would be cooking for us. I don't have anything to wear to a fancy restaurant and there's only like...3 classy ones in Amity Park. Besides, if mom and dad are on a date tonight I don't want to risk them to see us eating at one and thinking I'm slacking off and you're letting me..." She seemed oddly skittish for some reason so my instinct told me that Danielle was actually worried about something else and was making up excuses.

But that hardly mattered right now. What mattered was that I was not going to allow Danielle to talk herself out of it on account of seeming selfish after she essentially blew me off today. I didn't care about any of that, I treasured every moment alone with Danielle and those moments were growing more and more scarce so this would not stand. I may not be able to call her mine yet, but surely a doting _'uncle'_ could treat his _'niece'_ to a nice dinner without anyone batting an eye. And if she was that nervous of someone she knew seeing us like those two brats in the mall I could always arrange for a private dining room.

"You're worrying over nothing, Danielle," I frowned, taking her hand in mine and freezing Danielle in place with a stern look. "I can always find out which restaurant your parents are at if that concerns you, but knowing Jack he has always preferred all you can eat buffets or small family-run places. Besides, most classier restaurants wouldn't let them inside with his usual formal attire consisting of only a tie worn over his hazmat suit. So even if your parents could afford a table at one of the more high-class places, being forced to obey the dress code would prove to be too much work and they would be asked to leave long before being seated. And if you're so worried about someone seeing us then I'll arrange for a private room."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Danielle sighed, her shoulders dropping in defeat.

Without letting go of her hand entirely, I lifted her chin with my other hand and asked, "Danielle, what is this really about? Did someone say something foolish to you again? You can tell me."

Shrugging, Danielle admitted indifferently, "No, it's nothing like that. I just have a lot on my mind after talking to my friends. We've been drifting apart lately so I decided to do what I can to fix things between us by doing something fun with them this weekend if possible. On top of that, I really was looking forward to our first training session today but the fact that we missed our chance this week was entirely my fault, but I'll get over it. I still feel bad about wasting your time though so-" leaning forward to brush her lips gently with mine, which I unconsciously guided with my fingers since I was still holding her chin, Danielle kissed me and smiled just as suggestively as I did earlier and purred, "-while you were busy with your meeting I thought of a few ways I can pay you back too in a more...immediate way."

Blushing a little despite myself when her sultry tone turned me on, I swallowed and asked, "Then do you want to skip dinner and-"

"No way, I'm starving!" Danielle teased, phasing out of my grasp and pouting with her hands on her hips.

Realizing the double meaning behind her words now, I smirked and chuckled softly, "Oh...so that's how it is? Very well. I'll let you decide where we eat this time so you don't have to dress up. But afterwards, let's see if we can't still salvage the rest of the evening doing something I'm sure we'll both get to enjoy immensely."

* * *

Danielle's POV

In the end, I successfully convinced Vlad to go through the drive-through of this small privately-owned place with THE best meatball subs I've had in my entire life. It was a bit more pricey than the Nasty Burger but in my mind, it was still better than trying to find a seat at a restaurant this late. I mean most places I knew of were already closed by now, including one of the fancy places Vlad wanted to go to. Besides, I just wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone else today or feeling like everyone was gawking at our new local celebrity Vlad Masters.

We didn't take Vlad's limo this time, instead, we ended up taking one of his business cars and I reluctantly agreed to let one of his ghost employee's act as our chauffeur so they could order for us. I pretty much told him that was fine with me as long as it wasn't the same asshole that threw me off his private jet a few months ago. That got a nervous chuckle out of him and after that, we started to unwind a bit and play catch up what we've been up to lately. It was almost a game of wits since we both knew there were some things we were keeping to ourselves, nothing major, but it was enough to get us curious so Vlad and I would try to try to trick each other into giving something away that we didn't mean to.

But this time, I really did want to keep the Vallen thing to myself.

Don't get me wrong, Vlad was still very dear to me and I loved him but I'd be lying to myself if I said it wasn't hard on me that we had to keep our relationship a secret. I knew why but it was hard enough keeping our ghost powers a secret from my parents and the rest of the general public with the exception of Jason, Sam, and Trish. I was good at lying and coming up with excuses now but I still hated it.

I hated lying to the people I care about with other things too, especially Trish and Sam. They were my best friends and kind of guessed that there was something more going on between Vlad and me, still, I always dodged the subject and never actually confirmed or denied because I was scared of what might happen if they knew I've had sex with a man that was twice my age...

I knew exactly what would happen if my parents found out, or thought I did anyway. They could forgive Vlad for a lot of things, but not seducing their teenage daughter like this. They'd put a restraining order on him and it would cause a scandal that would ruin both of our lives. We'd become a laughing stock and people would sneer and look at us in disgust because not even Vlad would be able to bury all the evidence. It just put a lot of pressure on me since there was so much on the line when it came to keeping our love a secret from the world at large.

We thought it would be easier now that Vlad lived here in Amity Park too but to be honest, it was probably a lot harder actually. After all, he was running a business here pretty directly unlike his other ones that only needed his signature or approval to go through with something over the phone and my parents practically saw him as a member of our family, possibly the godfather of their kids, aka Jason and me, so that complicated things too.

Then there's the fact that we're both half-ghost. Everyone who knew of Vlad Plasmius knew not to trifle with him but me...well...lets just say I was still seen as a fairly easy target or worse, some ghosts saw me as Vlad's weakness since he was known to be merciless to anyone who tried to hurt or kill me which meant that he couldn't control his emotions when it came to my well-being...

This was true to some extent but at the same time, they didn't know Vlad at all. He could still be scary smart and efficient about things when he wanted to be, at least according to the rumors I heard from some of the ghosts I fought. I didn't find out until later that somehow Vlad had rendered the banshee mute and some even praised him as a hero while others saw a worthy challenger since she wasn't as frail as she looked and had destroyed many ghosts over the years and fed them to her Kelpies. I guess Dorian was wrong on that front and they DID, in fact, eat other ghosts.

Speaking of which, one ghost I met actually wasn't hostile and gave me a message from Dorian asking if I was doing better. It warmed my heart that he was worried about me and it was kind of fun sending old fashioned letters back and forth. At least, until I realized that I was talking to yet another guy, ghost or not, behind Vlad's back which made me feel guilty about it so in my last letter I told Dorian I was going to be busy for a while but I'd visit when I got the chance because like I said before, I think having a ghost dragon on my side might help my reputation in the Ghost Zone improve and maybe then the other ghosts would start to realize that just like Vlad, they didn't want to mess with Dani Phantom too much either.

Moving on though, on our way back to his mansion I started telling Vlad more about the things I talked about with Sam and Trish, including the idea we had about cursing Trish's ex-boyfriend. To my surprise, Vlad actually offered to help so I had to remind him that we weren't seriously planning to do it. It was something to consider though and so we started talking about his ghost lore books, some of which he even let Sam borrow which alone was surprising.

He also gave me some good advice for Trish about putting her hacking skills to good use and messing with him in a relatively harmless way. That seemed doable and I felt much better about pranking that asshole rather than literally trying to curse or hex him. It was then that I had to admit something to myself. Before I met Vlad I saw the world in black and white, and honestly, after everything he's done I should consider him a villain. And yet, I've made mistakes and seen the horrible things that good people can do for all the wrong reasons. So it was interesting to think that in a way, I was more willing than I used to be to fight back or take revenge against those who messed with me or my friends as long as it was within reason.

It made me wonder if Vlad was, in fact, corrupting me more than I realized. I wanted him to be a good person and he has changed a lot since we first met but...how much longer could I accept his indifference towards everyone but me? How much longer could I ignore this horrible feeling that Vlad was up to something big when that, for once, took priority over spending time with me?

At least when I was busy it wasn't by choice. And that being said, was it possible that Vlad's suggestive tone and caresses were his way of distracting me from the fact that earlier he said that he tracked my phone to find out where I was when I didn't call him back? There was no easy answer for that but this- I still love him anyway and planned to show Vlad how much once we returned to his mansion. Even if it took all night, I wanted to convince Vlad that that at least was something that hasn't changed at all.


	20. Ill-conceived

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **To the guest reviewer _"too lazy to login"_ don't you worry, that is actually my plan moving forward because both Danielle and I are frustrated with that element of the story so far too. Being a damsel I mean. It worked with the first story since she was inexperienced but now that she's coming into her own even without Vlad's training and guidance I want her to take on a more active role. I had something in mind for the next part involving Dorian and his brother but since the banshee encounter took so long I'm going to dive right into the next part of the main plot. Also, I forget if I've mentioned Vlad's_ 'diabolical' _plans in any previous chapters but in this chapter, I'm going to speed some things up to get the ball rolling. Also, I'm adding a new AU idea for the Fright Knight's true nature so stay tuned and wish me luck!

* * *

Chapter 20: Ill-conceived

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Danielle's POV

As much as I hated to admit it, I was surprisingly wiped out by everything that happened today and kept almost nodding off while holding Vlad's hand and resting my head on his shoulder. And so despite promising Vlad that we could spend some 'quality time' together once we went back to his mansion, he took pity on me and brought me home instead after we picked up my backpack from his place. I felt really bad about it but he said it couldn't be helped and kissed me softly before resting his head on mine during the ride over, lovingly stroking the top of my hand with his thumb.

Leaning down in the doorway of the car after the driver let me out, I smiled at Vlad and said, "I promise I'll contact you beforehand next time so this doesn't happen again. And I'm sorry things didn't go as planned for either of us. I'll call you again sometime this week and we can try setting up another study session, ok?"

Smiling back at me he nodded, "Thank you, my dear. But that reminds me, if you can't reach me very easily this week don't be alarmed. I'm currently in the middle of planning a rather large project with Axion Labs that might help us reduce the number of rogue ghosts in this town. I'll keep in touch though when I can. With that in mind, please, feel free to use this as an opportunity to patch things up with your friends and like you just said we'll try to do this again at a later date. Sleep well, Danielle."

"Thanks, you too, Vlad. I'll see you around," I replied, closing the door and waving as I watched him drive away in his black business car with that ghost driver of his.

Lowering my hand though, my expression faltered and I felt this odd sense of foreboding when he mentioned this _'project'_ of his. Then again maybe I was overthinking it and felt that way as a gut reaction because of all the anti-ghost inventions my parents have made over the years. And now they were making more than ever thanks to the fact that there were more ghosts to test them out on. Shaking my head I pulled my backpack up a little higher on my shoulder and unlocked the front door normally just in case my parents were back from their date already. But knowing them, their idea of a date was dinner then going out for a drive to hunt ghosts...

Well, if they managed to snag a few instead of leaving them for me to deal with that was fine by me. I could only hope that I would get enough sleep tonight and wouldn't be woken up five billion times by my ghost sense going off. Either way, something needed to change and I for one was determined to keep training on my own so that once Vlad and I could find the time to actually work on improving my skills I would be ready and he wouldn't have to worry about covering the basics so much. So with that in mind, I sat down in my room after letting Jason know I was home before writing down a list of what I've learned so far and what I'd like to see if I COULD learn from Vlad.

I was just about to start on the second page when I let out a huge yawn and had to remind myself why I came home instead of spending the night with Vlad. This could wait til tomorrow and maybe Sam and Trish might have a few ideas. I kinda wanted to talk to them about the Vallen situation too and how he wanted to start hanging out with us more.

If I was being honest with myself, I wasn't entirely against it, but I also knew it would be a bad idea to let him hang out with us too often because of how frequently I had to rush off to fight ghosts. Well, that and Sam DID have a bit of a grudge against him but I'm sure he'll get over it. I mean, after the whole Cujo thing Vallen did become more interested in learning about ghosts and how to deal with them almost like a...self defense sort of deal.

It wasn't a bad idea, especially now that school was running ghost drills along with fire drills. Still, I could only worry about one thing at a time so I folded the papers I wrote down a list of my powers on and put it in my backpack before getting ready for bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow though, I was out like a light and no pun intended but I was basically dead to the rest of the world...

...at least, until my ghost sense went off at 3 am.

* * *

Vlad's POV

Even though I expected Danielle to change her mind about spending the night with me tonight since she did look rather exhausted, I must admit that I was disappointed and frustrated by the fact that yet again our plans to spend some time alone together kept being thwarted at every turn. My need for her was almost painful now but I went to great lengths not to show it since I didn't want to put any pressure on my beloved. Instead, I decided to focus on my plans because I needed to act quickly before Danielle caught onto the fact that the story about my plans for Axion Labs was only partially true. I had several projects in progress and one rather ambitious one but it wasn't nearly as involved as my plans were in the Ghost Zone.

After months of searching everything was finally coming together. I now knew where the Skeleton Key was so it was only a matter of defeating its guardian and taking it. Once I had that, thanks to Danielle I knew what traps the Fright Knight's lair had in store so I could easily bypass them to reach the central chamber. I had plans for him as well but first I needed to secure the ring and hide it before confronting the true owner of that castle, someone who has been sealed away for almost an entire millennium who is the real source of fear in that place and the reason most ghosts avoid the castle...

Danielle couldn't have possibly known it belonged to the ancient Ghost King, Pariah Dark since she's not as well versed in ghost lore as I am. She knew about the Fright Knight to some extent but I uncovered his greatest secret, a secret that may very well help me convince him to join me and destroy Pariah once and for all so that Danielle and I could take his place as the King and Queen of all ghosts. Because as I said before, Pariah has been sealed away for a very long time since the most ancient of ghosts were unable to defeat him entirely. But I've destroyed ghosts before and had advance weaponry at my disposal, not to mention powers the likes of which this Pariah Dark has never seen before so I had every confidence that Danielle and I could defeat him, together.

The plan was simple.

First I would give Danielle one of the two artifacts that Pariah needed to become all-powerful, the Ring of Rage, and I would claim it was a gift meant to help keep her safe. After that I would feign ignorance once Pariah came after it and depending on whether or not I won over the Fright Knight before or after our encounter I would either plant him as a spy or wait for my chance to catch him alone to make my offer to help him regain some of his lost glory as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse...

Yes, that's right. Many believe he is actually supposed to be the Headless Horseman from a popular ghost story on Earth since many see him as the embodiment of fear, hence his title as the Spirit of Halloween, but they could not be more mistaken. In truth, he was demoted to the rank of _'knight'_ long ago when Pariah defeated the other three Horsemen and threatened to destroy them all if the Fright Knight did not swear his fealty and forsake his previous purpose to take this new name upon himself.

The Fright Knight was actually the embodiment of War who used his trusty sword, the Soul Shredder, to control the hearts of men through hatred and fear so that they would destroy each other and go to War and he was once the most powerful of the Four. Although obviously, it can no longer control anyone and at most can send them to a personal hell in a pocket dimension where their fears come to life. The other three were the embodiments of Conquest, Famine, and Death. While the colors of their steeds don't really matter when compared to what we think we know about them, the truth about them is quite different.

The Horseman of Conquest does ride a white ghostly steed and carried a bow but his power is that of deception and the power to rally almost any ghost under his banner to fight to the death for their cause so to speak, whatever it may be. The last two, however, had very similar powers at least on the surface. The Horseman of Famine had the power to create a toxic mist as he rode that would sicken and weaken anyone unfortunate enough to fall prey to it. And finally the last of the Horsemen, the Horseman of Death, drained the energy of everything around him whether living or dead when he rode his pale steed and this too would weaken their victims to the point where many would end up withering and fading away entirely.

Just like in the legends, the Four Horsemen were a sign of the End of the World but not in the way you may imagine. It was not their nature to bring this about before its time, but rather to prevent it until the day came when all things must perish and become part of the Ghost Zone when the Earth is consumed by it. Apart from that their job was to maintain balance in the Ghost Zone and they remained largely neutral, in fact in ancient times they were rarely seen outside of their domain which has long since been obliterated by Pariah Dark.

That being said, since they were still too important to the Ghost Zone to destroy outright like he threatened to do, Pariah must have the other three trapped somewhere hidden to this very day. Therefore, once I had the Skeleton Key, an artifact that could unlock any door, travel to any realm or free any prisoner so with it I could easily release them and restore the Fright Knight to his true form as the Horseman of War. They would be indebted to Danielle and me for that alone, but if we also dethrone their oppressor then no ghost would dare come after either of us from that moment on. And if I had them as my allies at least to some degree that would also deter anyone from attacking Danielle in particular once we essentially became the rulers of the Ghost Zone.

If I played my cards right, Danielle would never find out that I instigated all of this in order to lure Pariah Dark out of the Ghost Zone once I freed him as well so that we could defeat him and take his place as the most powerful ghosts of all time. And once we brought the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire together, if my theory proved correct as it has so far, the fact that Danielle and I are soulmates will mean that we will share this power and therefore we would both receive unlimited ghost energy regardless of which one of us wears both artifacts.

I did, however, have a...back up plan in mind on a smaller scale to help lighten the burden on her shoulders. Danielle didn't realize this yet but I was the one who discretely gave young Vallen Grey her phone number and put them into contact with one another. I knew they were friends and more importantly, Vallen obviously had grown rather fond of her which I could use to my advantage. My plan was to drop a few obvious hints in front of him and his father about wanting to create a secret task force of sorts who could protect this town from ghosts professionally so that we didn't have to leave all our protection completely in the hands of a single, if talented, ghost girl who seemed to at the very least be on our side.

Because in all honesty, I had very little faith in Jack and Maddie's abilities which frankly took them out of the equation. But, if Vallen showed an interest either directly or indirectly of wanting to help for Danielle's sake since she seems to be a popular target of ghost attacks, I could then put the next phase of my plan into action. If his father didn't approve of Vallen joining this task force in an official capacity, then I would simply do it under the table under an anonymous name.

Either way, not only would that keep Vallen too busy to spend much time with Danielle, but he would also become instrumental in protecting her and reducing the number of ghosts she had to fight by leaving them for him to deal with. And with the proper motivation, I had no doubt in my mind that he would excel at this.

I already knew Vallen had some martial arts experience, though never against a ghost, but you know what they say...a suit makes the man and I was already working on designing a very special suit especially for him. Through it, I could monitor everything and more importantly, I could keep him alive so that Vallen could serve as Danielle's protector, even if he wasn't aware of her secret...

Hopefully, he had no reason to hold a grudge against Danielle's ghost half, Dani Phantom, now that his father was once again working as head of security under Axion Labs new management, aka me. But I believe a gentle reminder that she wasn't our enemy would prevent that from happening and would allow him to focus on the real threat these other ghosts posed.

Both ventures would take some time but both were already well underway and I was planning to retrieve the Skeleton Key from the Ghost Zone this week in fact. As for my plans for Vallen, well, I did have a business meeting this week with his father which gave me the perfect opportunity to gauge Vallen's willingness and dedication when it came to keeping Danielle safe after everything she's been through recently. Because as I said, whether or not his father approved, I was going to create the perfect bodyguard for Danielle be it in the form of a ghostly Knight...or a person who would become her _'knight in shining armor.'_

And I would remain her ever devoted, not to mention one and only, King.


	21. Awkward

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

* * *

Chapter 21: Awkward

* * *

Danielle's POV

I suppose I should count my blessings because even though my ghost sense went off at 3 am the ghost I fought went down pretty fast and it didn't take long to capture them. I waited a bit before heading back, just to make sure I caught all the stragglers, but once I was done sending them back to the Ghost Zone I wasted no time climbing back into bed. It felt like I just barely closed my eyes when my alarms went off so it looks like I would be needing coffee this morning to get through the day...

Personally, I wasn't a huge fan of it and put tons of sweetener and creamer in it but it helped me wake up so I'm not about to complain. I'm just glad I didn't have to brew it myself since Jason already had a pot going. He must have been up late finishing that essay of his because when he wandered into the kitchen Jason looked worse than I did after a long night. His hair was disheveled and sticking up at weird angles and there were dark circles under his eyes. I pitied the poor guy so when he slumped down into a chair at the table, rubbing his temples, since his mug was empty I brought the pitcher over and refilled it for him.

"Long night?" I asked, smiling.

Nodding Jason replied with a groan, "Yeah, I was up so late finishing the damn paper that I even saw you come home from hunting ghosts last night so what about you? You gonna be ok during school today?"

"I'll be fine, I'm more worried about you honestly. Hold on..." Lowering his arms I smoothed down his hair a bit since it was bugging the crap out me and sighed. "There, now you don't look like a total train wreck."

"Gee thanks," Jason snickered, taking a sip of coffee and sighing. "By the way, how did your study session with Vlad go?"

I knew he was asking about our actual study session and the ghost training Vlad and I were supposed to do but thinking about it made me depressed as I admitted, "We had to cancel since I didn't get there on time like I told you and I was mentally exhausted from dealing with some drama with my friends. Not sure if I told you but the reason I haven't seen Trish around is because she started dating someone but that asshole dumped her over something stupid. We're going to try doing something fun this weekend to get her mind off of it. And before you ask why Vlad and I haven't rescheduled, its because he has some big business thing going on so we might not see him around this week either. I need to remember to tell mom that Vlad probably won't be coming here to join us for dinner for a while too."

"Gotcha, well I hope things go better for you next time. Anyways, I need to go take a shower but I'll see you after school," draining the last of his coffee Jason smiled tiredly, setting his mug in the sink before heading back upstairs and leaving me alone with my thoughts since our parents were still fast asleep after their ghost-hunting date.

* * *

After that, I packed up my things and decided to skip my shower today so that my brother could unwind a bit by staying in there longer without worrying about me then I started walking to school as usual. I met up with Sam first and was glad that Trish decided to join us again because I've missed talking to them like this. We made an unspoken agreement not to talk about her ex-boyfriend again yet but I did mention what Vlad suggested about giving him a hard time by hacking into his accounts online. Trish seemed to like the idea and a mischievous grin lit up her face as she whipped out her tablet and started tinkering with it while I amused myself talking to Sam.

We were nearly halfway to school too when out of the blue, Vallen drove up next to us in his new car and honked, making all of his jump at the noise. Turning to face him, we watched as he parked it on the side of the road and stepped out of the driver's seat, waving, "Hey Dani, you want to ride the rest of the way with me? Trish and Sam can come too."

_So much for taking it slow as far as getting my friends to warm up to Vallen before we started hanging out,_ I mentally groaned before smiling and waving back shyly, "Um that's ok. We're already halfway there so-"

"Count me in!" Trish suddenly beamed, her eyes sparkling at the sight of the sleek red mustang convertible Vallen was driving.

How could I forget that aside from being one hell of a hacker, Trish loved cars? When we were kids she even tried to build one from spare parts only to realize that making a full custom car is a lot more complicated than that. Still, right now she seemed more excited just looking at the car rather than just the idea of riding in it. Meanwhile, when I glanced at Sam it looked like he and Vallen were having a face-off and you could see sparks flying between them. Vallen had a coy smile on his face but Sam was straight up frowning at him so I decided to speak up again to defuse the situation.

"Guys lets just go or we're all going to be late for class. Come on Sam," I huffed, pushing him towards the car from behind while Trish was already way ahead of us and called shotgun.

Vallen looked a little disappointed when she sat down in the passenger's seat and glanced back at me once we were all inside his car so I shrugged and gave him an apologetic smile. I also elbowed Sam to stop him from giving Vallen a death-glare since he was just trying to be nice by giving us a ride. It wasn't like the rest of us had a car of our own, we either couldn't afford one or our parents said we'd have to get a job and earn the privilege to drive but given our grades and track record as far as being on time was concerned...yeah, good luck keeping one even if we found a decent job in town. At least Sam and Trish stood a better chance than I did since I had ghosts to worry about. Seriously, if someone paid me to do that it'd make my life a lot easier...

* * *

Despite things starting off a little awkward I was happy when it seemed like Trish and Vallen were hitting it off, he actually didn't mind telling her what model car this was and seemed to be taking her advice on keeping it in good shape to heart. I couldn't get Sam to talk much during the ride but I chimed in when I could to tell Trish more about the things Vallen was into and vice versa. It was like she had long since forgotten how Vallen used to be kind of a jerk to us but at least it was only verbal. One of the cheerleaders slapped me for spilling something on her uniform once and this other time someone tripped me. I never saw who did it but let's just say that having ghost hunters for parents made it easier for the people that usually ended up being bullied instead to bully you so they feel better.

I was used to it by now, but I'm still glad that Vallen changed his tune. I'm glad I got the chance to get to know him better and he even started to defend me a little bit when his friends started picking on us. I mean all he really said was that we weren't worth their time but hey, that was definitely better than nothing. Either way, like I said before Vallen was surprisingly easy to talk to and time seemed to fly by when he was around.

That's why it was so jarring when it felt like in no time at all we were at Casper High thanking Vallen for giving us a lift. Sam gave his somewhat reluctantly so I apologized for his attitude and practically had to drag Trish away from the car. Vallen had a different class for first period so I told him I'd see him in 3rd which was Science. By the time we reached that part of the day, as fate would have it the two of us ended up as lab partners but Vallen had to handle all the breakable stuff since I was banned from touching any of it, just a fun reminder of when my powers would go off at random and my hands would phase through tables, breakable beakers, doors, the works.

Even without Vlad's help, I'm glad my powers eventually stabilized but there was nothing I could do about the school branding me as an accident-prone clutz. Sometimes when I panicked weird things still happened but thankfully nothing as painfully obvious or troublesome anymore. And speaking of obvious, Vallen wasn't even trying to hide that he was enjoying being close to me. I caught him staring a few times when I was checking the textbook for something so I was really going to have to set some boundaries. I didn't mind being friends but I couldn't let Vallen get too close or get the wrong idea about us...

I could always tell him I liked someone else but I was afraid he would ask who it was which would make it harder to come up with a convincing lie. This time, using Sam as an excuse wasn't going to cut it. Or would it? I mean Sam didn't trust Vallen anyway and was only trying to look out for me. And it's true that I used to have a crush on him before I admitted it to myself and certainly before I met Vlad.

My heart ached thinking about Vlad because I already missed him and it felt like he's been growing distant with me and doesn't fight as hard to convince me to spend time with him instead of taking every opportunity to show each other how much we meant to one another. Was he secretly getting tired of me? Or maybe he was getting tired of saving my sorry skin so many times up until now because I couldn't take care of myself. Maybe that was it, maybe Vlad didn't think I was strong enough to keep fighting ghosts anymore which is why he was working with Axion Labs to figure out a way to fix Amity Park's ghost problems so he could-

"Dani, you ok? You've been staring at the same page for like five minutes," Vallen pointed out and I snapped it shut reflexively and winced when it closed on my fingers.

"Ouch, that smarts. Sorry, I was a bit lost in thought," I replied nervously, reopening the book and asking, "What page were we on again?"

"We're on page 134, over in this section," Vallen pointed, his shoulder brushing against mine as he explained what I missed while my mind was wandering.

I smiled and thanked him for reminding me where we were and was about to reread that section when I shivered and inhaled sharply to cover up my ghost sense going off. Well shit, looks like duty calls! After that I raised my hand abruptly and asked to use the bathroom, but the teacher just waved me off, not even surprised by it anymore and with that I did my usual thing of hiding, transforming, beating the snot out of and catching said ghost, putting the thermos back in my locker to release the ghosts later, then taking a minute or two to catch my breath before heading back. Or, well, that was the plan but then I suddenly DID have to go to the bathroom and changed course.

This was actually a good thing since I needed to reorient myself and get my act together so once I was finished I splashed some water in my face and sighed. My life was anything but dull but sometimes I missed those good old quiet days when I could get through the entire day without anyone teasing me or once I became half-ghost having to fight ghosts during all hours of the day. I guess it was to be expected since ghosts don't sleep, not unless they want to I think, so its no wonder it was such a constant thing...

Regardless, despite my doubts, I'm sure that whatever Vlad was up to right now would help us both in the end so it would be easier to find enough free time to actually get something done. So I wanted to do what I could in the meantime just like he suggested to smooth things over with my friends so they knew that I hadn't forgotten about them. Sadly Vallen didn't get the memo and was pushing things a little too fast but maybe that was a good thing. Maybe if he started to get along with Trish like I hoped he would forget about me and ask her out, on top of that maybe Sam would finally lighten up and realize that Vallen isn't the devil's advocate.

One way or another I wanted things to work out not only for my sake but for everyone else I cared about. I wanted Sam and Trish to know that they could still depend on me; I wanted Vallen to know that I was serious when I said I'd like to be friends with him too, and most importantly I wanted Vlad to realize that I did miss being with him.

All I could do was keep trying I suppose.

* * *

Thankfully after that first day, Vallen took the hint and held off on giving us too many rides to school. Trish was a bit bummed out by that but it didn't last long because she seemed to be doing better already when we noticed the pay off of her hacking skills. Thanks to that we finally found out who she'd been dating who was currently being made fun of for an embarrassing naked baby picture that had mysteriously been posted on every form of social media platform he had an account on. Honestly, Trish could have posted something worse but it wasn't like her to be THAT mean to someone even if they deserved it.

Anyways, now that we once again had the sidewalk mostly to ourselves I started asking for Sam and Trish's advice on what I should work on with Vlad once we could start training with him. Sam had a lot more ideas about that then Trish did but valued their input and we all agreed that learning how to teleport would be amazing. But if it wasn't possible for me to learn that I wanted to work on duplication if possible. I wasn't quite ready to work on refining my newest vocal power which reminded me that I actually hadn't shown them that yet. So after school, we agreed to meet up and I would fly them to some isolated area in town to demonstrate it to them...

It still needed a name and I considered calling it my _'Ghostly Wail'_ but since it actually didn't sound that bad even when I used it to attack we decided to call it something else. In the end, while still sort of creepy sounding, Sam came up with the name _'Final Dirge,'_ which was like some sort of mournful funeral song or something so we went with that. I could always just call it _'Dirge'_ for short.

They still had to cover their ears when I really let loose but I could only keep it up for a few minutes before I changed back and fell onto my hands and knees. I didn't pass out like the first time though luckily, however, I still had to sit down for a few minutes to catch my breath. Looks like I needed to work on building up my endurance with Vlad too so I wouldn't collapse so easily after using this power in the future since it was probably the most powerful one I had right now. Sam and Trish agreed with me too but we left it at that for now.

After that, we had a bit of fun with it when I used it to shatter some glass bottles we found laying around since we were hanging outside an abandoned warehouse sort of like the one where I first fought the Box Ghost. That's when Trish suddenly thought of an idea since I was good at singing and suggested I start voice training. It wasn't a bad idea so I told her I was all for it and could always watch tutorials online for the time being when I could spare a moment. And this eventually led her to bring up something that was happening this weekend that I totally forgot about.

"You know, I still have that old keyboard of mine I used to play music on, maybe we could enter that Talent Show at school together for old time's sake. Sam can bring his drum set. It'll be fun! I don't really care if we win but it'd be nice to do something normal together again like before," Trish smiled, winking, "I bet Vallen would love having the chance to hear you sing. So how about it?"

"Don't we need a guitar player too?" I asked, dodging the question, "Besides, would we even have enough time to practice if the talent show is this weekend?"

"She's got a point," Sam sighed, "As fun as that sounds I don't think we'll have time for all that. But I do agree with one thing, you've still got a great singing voice and its a shame you never share it with anyone anymore so why don't you enter anyway? Even if we can't play the music ourselves Trish and I could help you pick a song you're familiar with and help make an instrumental copy on her computer."

I blinked, stunned that they were so adamant about this and asked unsurely, "Are you sure that's what you want to do this weekend? I don't want to make this all about me entering some Talent Show, the whole point of setting time aside this weekend was to cheer up Trish."

"Exactly! And after hearing you use that cool new vocal power it got me thinking that I really want to hear you sing again. I forgot how good you were and besides, having a project with a deadline to work on this week will be a great distraction for me," Trish winked at me and seeing no way out of this I agreed to go with their crazy plan. I have no idea where all this came from but if it made them happy that's all that matters to me. It made me happy too knowing that they still believed we could work as part of a team and that we could work together, even without a ghost involved.


	22. Resolution

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **I explained this before but let me just say it again as a reminder, since this is an AU some of the events revolving episodes from the show are going to end differently or out of order if they do at all. So here I'm combining parts of a few episodes and keeping things brief to focus on other story elements. And since Vlad isn't Danielle's enemy and neither is Vallen that makes some parts of what I have planned both easier and harder so wish me luck! Also, I'm not gonna lie, it's kinda fun writing about Vlad scheming again. Lolz!

* * *

Chapter 22: Resolution

* * *

Vlad's POV

With everything else out of the way, for now, I decided to go ahead and move forward with my plans to retrieve the Skeleton Key after defeating the Behemoth acting as its guardian. It felt invigorating to take on the foul beast as both a challenge and a way to take my anger out on someone just as I'm sure it did for Danielle while fighting ghosts from time to time, so I didn't hold back. It rushed at me and attempted to crush me like a bug between its large talons but I merely teleported out of its grasp and encased my hand in ecto-energy before slamming my fist into its torso and sending it flying. Shortly after I created three duplicates to occupy the beast before making my way towards the glass case with the prize I saught, the Skeleton Key, invisibly so as not to be spotted immediately.

Once the key was within my grasp I teleported away from there and allowed my duplicates to fade after they were assaulted by the Behemoth's attacks to make it appear like it had defeated me. I turned my back on it and sneered when I heard the beast roar angrily in the distance after discovering that the Skeleton Key was long gone. The Behemoth could search all it wanted, but he would never find it where I was going. Well, not the key at any rate after I extracted it from its ornate glass case and allowed that to drift aimlessly within the Ghost Zone since I hardly needed it anymore...

I considered going after the Ring of Rage right now as well since I had time to spare but decided that more planning was necessary if I was going to convince the Fright Knight to work for me once I was ready to free the Ghost King and begin the next phase of my plan to overthrow him with Danielle's help. I did not want to risk her safety so my first order of business would be creating the perfect bodyguard out of someone she already knew, Vallen, whom Danielle seemed to trust a great deal and would therefore be unlikely to reject once he became a ghost hunter. True, she would still feel protective of HIM while he fought ghosts as well but so long as Vallen did not make an enemy of _'Dani Phantom'_ that hardly mattered.

If I played my cards right, they would be so busy protecting one another in secret that I would be free to do what I needed to for my plans to work once Pariah began his invasion of Amity Park to search for the ring. Because I assure you, the instant he discovers it gone he WILL search for it because Pariah cannot become all-powerful without it and the Crown of Fire on his brow. After that, it was only a matter of making myself bait so he would chase ME even without the ring in my possession once I gave it to Danielle...

After stepping across the threshold to my lab, I smiled at the idea of presenting her with a ring in general, it almost felt like a proposal and it was true that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Danielle. At this point, there was no doubt in my mind that we were made for each other and I would hardly go to such lengths for anyone less. My time pining for Maddie was all in the past and frankly, Jack could have her since I found someone better, someone who was literally my better half.

Ironic but fitting given how we were both half-ghost.

Regardless, the instant the portal shut behind me I changed back into my human form and left to stash the Skeleton Key in my vault for safekeeping. After that I called Axion Labs and told them I was on my way there to conduct a business meeting and instructed them to tell our head of security, aka Damon Grey, to meet me in the conference room along with the people I put in charge of the other departments. I was fully aware that today his son would be there too since one of his teachers had given their class an assignment to write about their parents work and to shadow them much like they would on a _'bring your child to work day.'_ And yes I may or may not have played a part in _'suggesting'_ it by overshadowing a few teachers while Danielle was preoccupied with some ghost or another so she wouldn't notice my presence so easily.

Either way, once I arrived and entered the main building and saw Vallen hot on his father's heels, just before Damon could tell him to wait outside I put on my most charming smile and insisted that nothing we were discussing today was case-sensitive so the young man was more than welcome to watch the meeting. And it didn't escape my notice how Vallen's eyes lit up either when I told his father he could stay so that was good, his admiration for me would make the boy easy to manipulate and possibly convince to become a ghost hunter to protect someone we both hold dear, Danielle...

And you may be asking how it is that I was able to remain composed when in reality I should be jealous of him just as I was of Samson for being able to court Danielle openly, but the answer is simple. Vallen is nothing but a tool to me, a shield to protect Danielle with without her knowledge, not to mention a way for me to keep an eye on her during combat since it was likely that the two of them would cross paths while she was in ghost form.

I didn't want to spy on her, but given how difficult it has been to find enough time to train let alone make sure that Danielle's development as a hybrid was still stable. At some point, I needed to take her energy readings somehow to better prepare her for the changes sure to come with her powers since we were caught off guard by this new one we discovered when the banshee stole her voice. I prefer to be prepared ahead of time whenever possible as a common business practice and this was for her own good...

And it was better than the alternative of locking Danielle up in a gilded cage and throwing away the key like I've been tempted to do several times now ever since I nearly lost her thanks to Freakshow. Sometimes I just wish I knew for sure that she had somewhere safe to rest her head at night when Danielle looked on the verge of collapsing after days of ceaselessly fighting ghosts for days. She was burning herself out and I knew that I was partially to blame for this since I haven't been able to keep these ghosts from invading this town through her parents portal.

I've tried to convince them to shut it down or perhaps lock it more securely when not in use but they insisted that they had things under control. Sometimes it made me want to shake them both and shout in their ignorant faces that this was hardly the case because of how often ordinary people, including Danielle, were constantly being hounded by ghosts on a daily basis! And if she was going to insist upon protecting this town, then I would find a way to protect her from now on without being forced to play hero for parents, a city, and people that in my eyes didn't deserve her sacrifices, her loyalty, and protection...

At any rate, once the other apartment heads and researchers were present I activated the display at the far end of the room and began my speech, keeping an eye on Vallen's reactions especially from his seat next to his father. Someone asked if he was supposed to be here and I cordially informed them that I allowed this, and what's more, it did involve his age group to some degree or at the very least the issue of Casper High being a hot spot for ghost attacks which put many young people like him in near-constant danger. Meanwhile, on the screen, I had already pulled up the reports I was permitted access to from the school to give examples of just how many people have been injured or threatened by ghosts and unsurprisingly, Danielle's name came up the most often which troubled Vallen considerably as I saw his shoulders visibly tense.

"One thing I would like to point out before we proceed is the simple fact that, out of all these documented incidents, there has not been a single casualty or life-threatening injury. Can anyone tell me why that is?" I asked, scanning the room but frowning when no one dared answer since they were afraid of looking foolish. Imbeciles, that only made them look more idiotic in my eyes for not having the brains to even attempt to answer...

My faith in my employees was slightly restored however when Damon spoke up, which was fitting since he was in charge of security, but I could tell that he was bringing this up a bit reluctantly, "If I may Mr. Masters, is it because of the ghost girl Dani Phantom? I'll admit that once we discovered the existence of these ghosts her help has been appreciated, but might I also add how much property damage she has caused too? And I speak from personal experience..."

Nodding his head towards Vallen, Damon further explained, "My son was there that day when I was showing the previous owner of Axion Labs the latest security system I designed which was thought to be the most powerful and secure in the United States. But...it proved to be no match when faced with an unknown ghost in the form of a dog. It tore the place apart and I lost my job but to make matters worse brute began following me and my son and causing all sorts of trouble for me and my family."

Finding their voice, one of his co-workers from the weapons department added, "It's true Mr. Masters. I was there when it happened to and saw the whole thing and from what I could tell that ghost girl did not seem hostile and she at least tried to stop that beast from attacking us. But despite the evidence pointing to this girl even proving herself to helpful to the community by defending Amity Park from her fellow ghosts, that doesn't change the fact that we're still under constant threat of attack which is why we have implemented new security measures with anti-ghost properties which are still under development."

"Thank you for your input, it was very insightful," I smiled, waiting for him to take his seat again before continuing off what he said. "And that my friends is precisely my point. Up until now, we have been leaving the protection of this city in the hands of a single ghost who, as capable as she may be, has no formal training or combat experience let alone the assets to keep all of these ghosts at bay by herself. We've been able to protect this lab and its assets thanks to my extensive knowledge of ghosts, but what about the common people who are forced to fend for themselves who live in this ghost-infested town? Who protects them? The Guys in White? No, as part of the government their only concern is national security so the welfare of Amity Park is of little concern to them, and while my old friends Jack and Maddie Fenton are ghost experts as well they are not formally trained either and lack the proper authority to act. I, on the other hand, have connections and if we work together then perhaps we can do something to resolve this problem."

"Then, what do you purpose we do?" One of the head researchers asked, adjusting her glasses, "We haven't finished development on the anti-ghost security systems yet."

"I am well aware of that, Damon has already given me a full status report," I replied, showing the next set of images and videos on the monitor depicting the training our security guards were already undertaking so they would be prepared for any and all other ghost attacks before explaining, "I still intend to work on that in the meantime, however, as you can see we have been giving the members of our security guards special training to make sure they are combat-ready in case of a break-in whether it is by thieves or ghostly invaders, but why stop there? Why don't we take it a step further and train a special task force whose sole purpose will be to defend this town against ghost attacks professionally? Why should we leave it all in the hands of one girl when we have the ability to defend ourselves now that we're aware of the threats ghosts pose?"

There was a murmur that swept through the room but while some of them seemed unsure Damon and a few others seemed to agree that this was a good idea and began asking me questions on how this was going to work. This would be a privately funded project and Damon would be the one in charge selecting candidates for this special task force. Of course, they had no idea that I would be selecting one of my own-

His son, Vallen Grey...

* * *

I was pleased with the results and took my time gathering my files and such in a briefcase I brought with me until the only people left in the conference room were myself and Vallen. Damon didn't notice lagging behind since he was in the middle of discussing weapon plans with the head of the weapons department who spoke up earlier after I gave them each of their assigned tasks. I, of course, was counting on this, but I knew I had a very limited opportunity to speak to the boy privately before his father came back to retrieve him.

I didn't want to make it too obvious that I knew he was still there so I waited until Vallen approached me before looking up, raising an eyebrow, "Is something the matter my boy? Did I trouble you by mentioning the ghost attacks at your school? Forgive me, maybe I should have had you wait outside for your father after all."

"No...its not that," Vallen began, closing his eyes before looking up to meet my gaze again, "Well, actually maybe it is. It's more that I'm worried about Dani, that is, um, Dani Fenton? To tell you the truth I used to be one of the people at my school who made fun of her and her parents for believing in ghosts until they started appearing everywhere and we found out they weren't crazy after all. Some of the kids at school still do since her dad is kinda unreliable, no offense. I don't know about her mom but the point is I get what you're trying to do here and I want to help! I know I'm young but I can fight and I want to keep her safe! Besides, someone needs to teach these spooks a lesson!"

Closing my briefcase slowly, I inhaled a slow deep breath and explained formally, "While I appreciate your enthusiasm I very much doubt your father would approve. Ghost hunting isn't a game my boy, it is dangerous and possibly life-threatening. The fact that Danielle's life has been put in harms way so often is precisely because her parents are in this profession."

Scowling Vallen grumbled, "Well yeah but they suck at it! I mean the only reason we haven't been overrun by ghosts already is because that ghost girl just HAPPENS to be on our side. But she caused a lot of trouble for me too so I think it's about time we take matters into our own hands. And I'm not doing this just for Dani, I'm doing it for me too because I'm sick of ghosts ruining my life! If it wasn't for her getting you in touch with my dad and giving him his job back, we wouldn't be here and I still haven't paid her back for that and for being there for me when things got tough there for a while. You heard my dad right? We nearly lost everything because of some giant dog and I'm not going to let it happen again. Please, won't you at least consider it?"

I had to stop myself from smirking outwardly because Vallen was playing right into my hands because I was hoping he would say that. But I couldn't let on too that I was seriously considering it so to keep up with appearances I grabbed my briefcase off the table and while walking past him, I placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to look sympathetic, and said, "I'm sorry but the answer is still no. I cannot in good conscious put your life at risk like that. It will take time but once your father has chosen the candidates we'll begin forming a team of professional ghost hunters and they will be the ones to take care of this ghost problem. I want to keep Danielle and her family safe too, just like I'm sure you wish to protect her and your father but trust me, the last thing we need is another vigilante running around making a mess of things."

After that, I began making my way out of the room and finally did crack a smile when my back was turned and I heard Vallen mutter under his breath with my ghost hearing, "If you won't help me, I'll figure out a way to protect her on my own. Don't worry Dani, I'm not going to let ghosts ruin our lives anymore. Not if I have anything to say about it..."


	23. Competition

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Blegh again I keep forgetting the genderbent name for Dash so I apologize if I get it wrong. I'm too lazy to backtrack in the story to check if I named them at all.

* * *

Chapter 23: Competition

* * *

Vlad's POV

Things were falling into place beautifully if I do say so myself. And while young Vallen's father was busy recruiting potential candidates for this special ghost task force of ours, it would be easy to miss what his son would be up to once I gave him his 'gifts.' Meanwhile, just like how Danielle was busy with her friends, I was busy building a custom battlesuit especially for Vallen after hacking into his records and such to get his height, weight, and other such things. It would be fitted with only the best technology at my disposal because I needed to keep him alive after all. Wouldn't want him becoming a ghost after a sudden and violent death now would we...?

This suit had everything from anti-ghost weapons to neural receptors to keep an eye on his vitals and there was a fail-safe in its programming that would take him out of harm's way should the boy lose consciousness. Not only that, but I had full control over the suit in the event of him from doing something foolish. Although that mainly applied to if Vallen decided that Dani Phantom was a threat along with the other ghosts.

As I said before, I would be sending Vallen this equipment anonymously after diverting suspicion away from myself by telling him he couldn't get involved in the project. But, I did it in such a way that should he ever learn the truth or I chose to reveal it to Vallen, he would catch onto the fact that I only told him no to keep up appearances. That part was true, at least more or less, although and it honestly didn't matter what he believed or found out so long as my faith in his abilities and dedication was sound. But speaking to him directly after the meeting did prove that he felt indebted to Danielle which was excellent news for me. And as near as I could tell Vallen seemed willing to do anything to pay her back for her kindness as a friend and because he had budding feelings for Danielle.

I secretly despised the latter part, but in the end, this was just another part of my grand plan as far as ending the ghost threat once and for all by rigging everything on both sides. Once my real task force was ready before I set things in motion with the Ghost King, they could focus on protecting civilians while Danielle and I dealt with the real threat with or without Vallen's help. This also gave me time to finalize my plans for convincing the Fright Knight to join me in my efforts to dethrone the ghost who sealed away his fellow Horsemen.

To put it simply, I was covering my bases as far as protecting this town so Danielle wouldn't have to just this once because our reward would be that this town would be marked officially as ours and our power would be established by defeating the Ghost Zone's most powerful enemy, Pariah Dark. Either way, with this, no one would dare underestimate our power ever again...

* * *

Danielle's POV

"Vlad wasn't kidding when he said he was going to be busy this week, it's already Friday and I still haven't heard back from him," I sighed, glancing at my phone sitting on the counter in the bathroom while I was drying off my hair.

It was like their roles were now reversed since I was hanging out with my friends but struggled to get a hold of Vlad. I just hope he heard my last voicemail though inviting him to the Talent Show. Trish, Sam, and I have been working on the song we decided that I would be singing for it and I really wanted Vlad to be there. Trish offered to record my part in the Talent Show for him but she already did so much for me already by helping Sam remix the background music for my song on the disk in my backpack. I couldn't ask her to do that.

Sam helped me pick this outfit too since it was totally in his area of expertise. And no I wasn't decked out in a full goth outfit but I did look like a female rockstar. I was wearing a black tank top with a dark blue shirt that cut off on the right shoulder and had a broken heart and flames on the left sleeve which was supposed to be ironic because of the saying _'wear your heart on your sleeve.'_ To complete the outfit he let me borrow a spiked choker he had and we cut up some old jeans of mine that I rarely wore anyway and he bought me these long black leather boots from his favorite goth store that reminded me a lot of the boots I wore with my hazmat suit in ghost form.

Still, once I finished applying my makeup I think I looked pretty damn hot if I do say so myself. I didn't look too goth by adding as much eyeshadow as Sam does, but I felt like this look went with the song we chose since I wanted to just let loose and have fun with it. Vallen was going to be in the Talent Show too showing off his karate moves so I was pretty excited to see that and Sam decided to enter at the last minute and read a poem or something since he had time to kill. Meanwhile, Trish was actually helping out as a stagehand with the lights and such since she was good with technology so she had a backup copy of the music disk if anything happened to mine which was good to know given my rotten luck.

"Right! Let's do this thing!" I smirked, heading back downstairs.

Glancing into the kitchen, I spotted my parents working on something but thankfully I didn't have a curfew tonight since I was going to be having a sleepover at Sam's with Trish once the Talent Show was over. I thought about inviting them too but didn't want to be disappointed as usual when it slipped their minds. As for Jason, he was spending the weekend camping in a cabin with some friends after getting his essay turned in on time which is why he left right after school. I thought it'd be quicker to fly back, take a shower, change, and do my makeup before heading back to meet up with my friends and wish Vallen luck.

I gave myself plenty of time to get ready just in case there was another ghost attack today. I captured a few on my way here which was fine by me since I needed to take a shower anyway. Thankfully it was just a couple of ghost animals, nothing I couldn't handle. One of them scratched my leg but the wound was covered up by these boots anyway and mostly healed. It was still a bit sore though so good thing I wasn't going to be dancing or anything.

I couldn't help but think of Vlad again so after saying goodbye to my parents and grabbing my backpack I pulled out my phone from the back pocket of my pants since these didn't have any in the front and called him while walking out the door. I figured I'd transform again in an alley and fly back to school from there but I really wanted to hear his voice and wanted him to wish me luck even if he was too busy to be there. It felt lonely, not being able to share at least this part with him but we knew from the start that what we have, it makes it hard to spend time together since I was a student and he was a billionaire with several multimillion-dollar corporations. It was a miracle Vlad found any time at all honestly now that he owned Axion Labs too.

A disappointed sigh left my lips when his number went straight to voicemail so I hung up without leaving a message and put my phone back into my back pocket, or was about to when it rang again. Confused, I held it out in front of me and checked the caller ID and it was Vlad. _Oh, it must have _gone_ to voicemail this time because we were calling each other at the same time,_ I smiled, relieved to finally hear back from him as I answered the phone and pulled it up to my ear.

"Hey Vlad, perfect timing because I just called you a second ago. What's up?" I asked, keeping my pace casual while looking for the usual alley where I transformed after leaving the house.

_"Ah, Danielle, I'm glad I caught you in time. I'm afraid I'll be running a little late but the Talent Show is at 7 pm correct? Do you know when you will be performing?"_ He asked and I could hear him shuffling papers so Vlad was probably still in his office.

I nodded, "Yeah, but since we didn't sign up at the same time as everyone else we won't be performing till later in the show. I'm not really sure when since we just have numbers and then the audience will vote for their favorite act at the very end. I'm number 14 and Sam's number 16."

Smiling, I added warmly, "I'm glad you're going to be there even though this is so last minute, Vlad. I still can't believe that this is how Trish wanted to spend the weekend but it turns out she was helping as the technician person anyway this whole time so I guess she wanted us to be there for her too even though she's not performing. Jason is camping with some friends this weekend to reward himself for turning in that big essay for one of the college's he's applying for and I didn't even bother inviting mom and dad since they're tinkering with something at home. Guess you've been busy too. I was worried I wouldn't get the chance to hear your voice before doing this because, to be honest, I'm a little nervous even though this is all just for fun. You're the first person I've sung in front of for a long time..."

_"I'm sure you'll do fine my dear, you're a very talented young woman. At any rate, I promise I will get there as soon as possible to cheer you on. I just need to finish a few more things at the office first."_ Vlad explained, and I could hear him typing away on a keyboard now.

"Sounds good, and thanks. I'll do my best! Oh, and good luck with whatever you're working on too, Vlad. I'll see you later," I replied, waiting for him to say goodbye before hanging up the phone.

My heartfelt so much lighter knowing Vlad was going to be there and more excited than ever to try and win this thing. I know I said I didn't care about winning but it wouldn't hurt to actually try and win to impress Vlad, right? Either way, there was still some time to practice before the show so with renewed determination I ducked into the alley after making sure the coast was clear and flew off towards the school to give Sam and Trish the good news! Vlad was going to come to see us perform after all! It might not mean as much to them but it meant the world to me that Vlad cared about what I was doing and so I wanted to make this a show worth remembering.

* * *

After I finished practicing the song a few more times with Trish and Sam, I decided to patrol the area around the school while we waited for the show to start to make absolutely sure that NO ghosts were going to ruin this for me or anyone else. I spotted the Box Ghost trying to mess with the stage prop boxes in the back but I scared him off with a few well-aimed ecto-energy blasts and told him that if he showed his face here again I would be bringing my thermos next time. I didn't want to deal with capturing him right now but he got the message and hightailed it out of there.

I was on my way back when I saw Vallen practicing his karate moves down below and got curious so I turned invisible and flew closer to him. He was decked out in a red karate robe instead of a classic white one and was setting up wooden boards to chop in half. I wasn't sure how strong he was but I've seen enough fails online to start worrying about him messing up and hurting himself. Still, Vallen looked totally focused and serene as he took a stance and breathed in deeply, exhaling slowly. I jerked in surprise though when Vallen let out a battle cry and instead of chopping the wood in half with his arm or forehead he karate kicked it and it snapped in half in a burst of splinters.

_Damn, that was a thick piece of wood too!_ I thought, staring at the remains of the board while Vallen reached over for the next one.

I was so wrapped up in watching him that whatever I was leaning on invisibly fell over and I stumbled to the ground in a tangled mess. His head snapped up when he heard it so I transformed back before Vallen could see me the moment he demanded, "Hey, who's there? Spying on the competition are you?"

Groaning, I sat up and called back, "Sorry, it's just me."

"Dani?" Vallen blinked, dashing over to where he heard my voice, staring down at me, "What are you doing here?"

Standing up with a wince and brushing myself off I lied playfully, "Well, I AM in the Talent Show too but I'm hardly competition since Sam and I entered for fun. I just wanted to wish you luck so I went looking for you. That kick was pretty amazing."

Blushing a bit Vallen smiled, "Ah, you saw that huh? Thanks. It's actually a lot harder than it looks. A few years ago I broke my foot doing that when I refused to listen to the instructor and did that with too many planks of wood before I was ready. But when someone tells you you can't do it with that kind of attitude it only makes you want to do it more and prove them wrong. You know what I mean?"

Laughing I replied, "Oh yeah, more than you realize. Anyway, what number are you? I'd like to see you perform for real and didn't get the chance to ask before you left school the other day since you were going to shadow your dad at Axion Labs for our Social Studies assignment. I finished my paper ages ago since I see what my parents do for their work every day and could have done it with my eyes closed."

Distracting himself by throwing the broken planks of wood in the trash Vallen replied, "I signed up pretty early so I'm number 7. And you?"

"Me? I'm number 14. Sam's 16, " I told him, checking the time on my phone and asking, "Hey, you wanna grab a drink from the vending machine? There's just enough time to grab something before the show starts. Trish is in charge of the stage lights and all that too so it might be nice to grab her a snack while we're at it."

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea," he smiled, grabbing his backpack since it had his spare wood planks and wallet in it. "I'll treat you both if you want so you don't have to spend your money."

Rolling my eyes I scoffed, "You might want to hold off on doing us any more favors otherwise you're going to spoil Trish. Thanks for the offer though. Trust me, you don't have to bribe her THAT much to get her to like you, giving us a ride in your fancy car already won her over."

"Too bad that didn't seem to work on Sam, he really hates me doesn't he?" Vallen sighed, easily keeping up with me while we walked to the vending machines on the other side of the building.

"Nah, like I said before he just doesn't know you very well and doesn't respond well to people trying too hard to get into his good graces because it feels forced. So just...be yourself and don't try to impress him so much with all your money and fancy rich stuff, trust me on this. Sam cares more about the kind of person you are then how rich you are. Do that and Sam will warm up to you eventually," I assured him, reaching for my wallet to pay for my drink and a snack for Trish.

That seemed to help him feel a little better while we headed back inside but that's when I noticed something off about my leg. Did something hit me when I fell? Stopping for a second to check it out I hissed in pain when I noticed a bruise forming through one of the torn holes we cut out in my old jeans. Well, that smarts, I didn't notice it until now but at least it had nothing to do with the scratch on my leg from fighting ghosts earlier...

Vallen turned around when he noticed how I stopped to sit down and noticed the bruise too and frowned, "Shit, did that happen earlier when that stuff fell on you?"

"I guess so," I shrugged, "But I'm ok, it only hurts a little and my act doesn't involve dancing or anything."

Kneeling down to examine it Vallen saw how big it was already and shook his head, "That might be true but we still need to take care of this. Hang on a second," rummaging through his bag he pulled out a small towel and wrapped it around his water bottle since it was still cold and said, "This should help with the swelling but I'll go grab an actual ice pack from the nurse's office for you. Wait here and I'll be right back!"

"I'm fine, really," I insisted, standing up again, "Let's go give Trish her snack then we can go to the nurse's office. I know the way like the back of my hand after..." I trailed off when he gave me a stern look and sighed, "Fine fine, I'll just go straight there myself you big worry wort! Could you give this to her then?"

Satisfied with that Vallen smiled and accepted Trish's snack and his drink back while I kept the towel and put my soda in it to replace his water after promising to sit there for a few minutes to stop the swelling and reduce the pain so I wouldn't end up limping the whole way there. After that Vallen waved and told me to text him once I got the ice pack so he'd know I was ok. As a joke, I told him that normally I'd wish him luck in his act by saying _'break a leg'_ but considering what his act was I didn't want to jinx it. That got a laugh or two out of him before he left to go let Trish know what happened. Sam was probably busy perfecting his poem a bit more but I went ahead and texted him too while I was waiting.

There was still plenty of time before the first act so if I missed part of it I wasn't too worried, this really wasn't a big deal and a total accident. It could have been worse. Of course, no sooner did I think that when I looked up and saw a bunch of cheerleaders strutting towards me as soon as Vallen was out of sight and one of them leered, "Oh look if it isn't little miss Fenturd? What's the matter, trip on a flat surface again like the clutz you are?"

"Well you'd know wouldn't you after the way you guys broke your pyramid last week and fell into a big pile," I smirked, "Isn't the football field just as flat?"

"Shut up loser!" Another girl snapped, towering over me menacingly but I just shrugged indifferently.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do? Aren't some of you performing in the Talent Show too?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at them.

Forming a half-circle around me the head cheerleader, Diana, laughed cruelly and said, "Yeah that's right, and rumor has it you're going to be singing too so why don't you do yourself a favor and quit now to save yourself the embarrassment? There's no way anyone is going to vote for a loser like you. That prize is as good as mine."

_Seriously? Could these guys be any _more petty_?_ I thought, standing up and giving her a look before I replied, "Just give it a rest already, if you're that worried about me then that means you don't believe that for one second. You DO see me as a competition don't you? And that's why you're trying to scare me off. But it won't work. I'm not going to let you guys walk all over me anymore just to make yourselves feel superior. So just back off and let's just do our best out there. If that's not good enough to beat me, then that's you're problem, not mine. Now if you'll excuse me."

I'm glad I didn't have my backpack with me because I bet these jerks were probably planning on snapping the music disc for my act in half so I couldn't perform so I shoved past them and started walking away. One of them tried to stop me by grabbing my shoulder, but I shot them a venomous glare and sent a mild shock of ecto-energy through my body to startle them and warned, "Touch me again and I'll tell Mr. Lancer you guys were harassing me. I recorded the whole thing so don't even think about lying to him," I smirked, waving my phone at them with my other hand. "Anyways, good luck with the show girls! You'll need it if you want to beat me."

And with that, I walked out of there with my head held high, proud of myself for thinking ahead when I saw them coming towards me and did something I'm sure Vlad would have to blackmail them into leaving me alone. He was right, I didn't have to use my powers to show them I wasn't to be trifled with but this time I used it just to mess with the girl who told me to shut up. Either way, it looks like this Talent Show just became a lot more interesting and I was going to have to stay on my toes to make sure these dumbass cheerleaders didn't try to sabotage me again...


	24. Confidence

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

* * *

Chapter 24: Confidence

(Chapter inspired by "Part Of Me" by Katy Perry ~ Metal Cover by Jotun Studio)

* * *

Danielle's POV

Knowing how vicious cheerleaders could be short of actually beating up someone, I decided to not take any chances and skipped going to the nurse's office. The bruise was already pretty much gone anyway thanks to my ghost healing. Still, I drained my soda and transformed once I was out of sight to go make sure they hadn't messed with my things already. I wasn't that worried about the disc since Trish had a backup copy but I was a bit worried about that list of powers I wrote down and the things I wanted to learn from Vlad during training once we could get started on that again...

I was relieved when I found everything in place just where I left it and also found Sam so I could let him know what happened. He was just as annoyed as I was that Diana and her friends would try to threaten me like that just to win some stupid prize. It wasn't even all that great honestly, I just wanted the trophy so I could show off a little in front of Vlad. I also told him about Vallen's act and how cool it looked and that I sent him to let Trish know I hurt my leg a little earlier when some sports equipment fell on me.

I was fine now though and when we checked it my bruise wasn't so bad now so I texted Vallen to give him and Trish an update and to warn them about Diana, after that Vallen straight up called me sounding annoyed that I didn't go see the nurse but since he understood why after those girls tried to bully me it made sense. _"Figures they'd wait until I left before ganging up on you. Sorry about that. Hopefully, they won't try to pull anything else. Mr. Lancer should be backstage where you guys are so do you want to try telling him what happened and get them disqualified?"_

I thought about it for a minute before shrugging and replied, "Nah. Hopefully standing up to them and threatening to tell him will be enough to make them behave. As tempting as it is to get a bit of payback Diana will probably gang up on me again once the show is over and make my life more difficult. Besides, since when has Mr. Lancer listened to me before when I told him I was being bullied? I'd rather deal with this myself since he's even less likely to listen to me while he's busy dealing with everyone participating in this Talent Show. So I'll just keep an eye out just in case they try anything funny."

_"Well alright, if you're sure. Good luck Dani,"_ Vallen said before ending the call after letting me know that Trish said thanks for the snacks.

After that, Sam and I were basically put on patrol duty backstage making sure everyone else was behaving so its a good thing we already practiced our acts a lot during the week and when we came here a little early. I told him I could handle it but Sam insisted on helping me keep those girls in their place so I smiled and we basically tag-teamed keeping an eye on things. He did this by walking around normally, pretending to be texting away on his phone, while I, on the other hand, stayed in ghost form and watched from above for now.

I saw a couple of shady things happen but thankfully a quick overshadow or putting things back in place invisibly usually did the trick. Seriously though, this was just a Talent Show, why was everyone still trying to cheat their way to the top? Unfortunately, we missed the first few acts doing this, but Sam and I agreed to take a break so we could watch Vallen perform after nothing serious happened...

Sam may not like Vallen that much, but he wanted to support me by at least trying to be civil. And besides, who didn't like a good karate display anyway? In his own words though, Sam joked that if he screwed up it would at least give him a good laugh. I just rolled my eyes at this saying that we'd get a laugh too if he read his poem wrong or his voice cracked and Sam shut up after that. It was all in good fun but seriously I didn't want anything bad to happen if I could help it. Not to either of them.

* * *

Thankfully, things went smoothly after that and we did get to make it to our seats in time to see Vallen's act and holy shit, I didn't realize he had more than just the wood plank part in his act! He started off by bowing in the traditional manner for this sort of karate thing before seamlessly moving into each attack stance and hitting some targets set up around him with sharp punches or kicks and once he even stopped inches away from the target to display how much control Vallen had over his attack movements.

I was impressed and honestly, I kinda wanted to try a few of those moves the next time I fought a ghost. And for his grand finale was doing a flip and then chopping the wood planks in half with a sharp kick like I saw him do earlier as practice. When it was all over though I clapped so hard that my hands started to hurt but that was freaking amazing!

I've heard about Vallen's karate classes but to actually see him do it was something else entirely. Even Sam was impressed and clapped a little so I'd say that was mission accomplished! Still, there were now 7 more acts until it was my turn and 9 before Sam's so I guess it was time to go back to our patrols. But first I wanted to personally congratulate Vallen on an amazing act. When I went backstage to see him though, of course, he was surrounded by squealing fangirls which wasn't too surprising given how popular Vallen still was to most of the school but I frowned when I saw a few of the cheerleaders from earlier swooning over him.

Vallen might not be friends with Diana or Paul anymore after the way they treated him before his dad got his job back with Axion Labs thanks to Vlad, and they were able to move into a nicer place again, but he was still pretty popular with the ladies because he was rich and talented. Since I didn't want to cause a scene after what happened earlier I figured I'd see him later and shrugged as I walked away.

* * *

As luck would have it, most of the cheerleader's acts were right after Vallen's so I didn't have to worry so much about keeping an eye on them to make sure they didn't try to harass anyone else. Sam was keeping an eye on our things from our seats in the stadium where it wouldn't be as easy for anyone to mess with it unnoticed like it would be if we stayed backstage. Three of them did a cheer, how original right? But this one girl surprised us by doing this amazing hula-hoop act so I did clap for that one since she wasn't one of the cheerleaders who cornered me earlier.

We watched a few of their other acts after that but they weren't that exciting so I didn't pay much attention. At least, not until Diana showed up in a different outfit from earlier telling us how she was going to be singing one of her favorite songs _'What the Hell'_ by Avril Lavigne. It wasn't a bad song choice, and honestly, I expected her to pick something a bit more rebellious but then again they didn't want us singing anything with too many swear words in it. Not that I was sure if _'hell'_ even counted since it was a place too but whatever...

I was just curious if she could actually sing it.

Turns out Diana wasn't all that bad actually, not that I wanted to praise her or anything but I enjoyed the song. A bunch of guys started wolf-whistling at her near the end when she did a mic drop to show off and strut off the stage like she owned it as if daring me to beat that. Well, I had news for her! I was going to prove that I could! And since it wasn't too much longer until it was my turn anyway, I told Sam I was heading backstage to wait and asked if he could check on Trish and Vallen.

He wished me luck and we parted ways but surprise surprise, Diana was there waiting for me and blocking my entry with a coy smirk. "Try beating that with your caterwauling nerd," she laughed, elbowing past me to go take her seat next to all the boys and her fellow cheerleaders who were practically celebrating their victory already.

I didn't want to lose face to those creeps so I did a few vocal warm-ups in the bathroom backstage. Thankfully I was by myself but just thinking about how Diana was trying to ruin this for me too when ruining my life at school wasn't enough for her that my vocal powers leaked through a bit and cracked the mirror in front of me with a sharp noise that startled me enough to make me stop. Well, that wasn't good, I couldn't lose control now and short out the mic not to mention break everything else so I needed to calm down. Besides, Vlad would be here any minute now to watch and I didn't want to look bad in front of him...

Squaring my shoulders I left the bathroom and told Mr. Lancer that the mirror in the bathroom cracked and that someone should fix it. He asked if I broke it but even though I did technically I gave him an offended look and said of course not. Thankfully he was too busy to worry about that now since he was needed back on stage to announce the next act and hurried off.

I knew there was only one more act before mine, but despite feeling confident with my singing talents I felt nervous butterflies began to form in the pit of my stomach. Figures right? I've faced WAY more nervewracking situations than this in the past but was still getting all flustered. So to calm my nerves I closed my eyes and tried to imagine Vlad wrapping his arms around me to reassure me that everything would be fine. And for a moment it almost felt like I could feel his warmth around me which helped me feel a little less nervous.

It was almost my turn now but I decided to check my phone and sent him one last text saying, **'I'm about to go up next, I hope you made it in time to watch and I'll be looking for you in the crowd. Wish me luck!' **

After that, it was all or nothing so I took my place next to the stage, waiting for Mr. Lancer to announce my number, and took a deep breath. I could do this, and even though I wanted to win I had to remember that we entered this to support Trish and have fun. The audience's reaction didn't really matter, I just needed to pretend like I was singing to myself and go for it. And if Vlad did make it in time to listen, then that was enough for me...

* * *

The stage lights were nearly blinding when I stepped onto the stage and the dead silence wasn't exactly comforting so after checking the mic, I took one last deep breath and said confidently, "Hey there, my name is Dani Fenton and today I'll be singing _'Part of Me'_ by Katy Perry. There's no special theme to this song aside from the obvious that I'm not going to let life keep me down. Anyways, hope you're ready for me to rock your world!"

A few seconds later Trish started the music for me and I only had about 10 seconds total to scan the crowd for any sign of Vlad before getting into the song and going for it. We decided to mix a version of this song that was a bit more metal like Dumpty Humpty's music so it was easy to lose myself in the energy of the song I was singing and move to the beat, swaying to dance a bit to the music. And whatever nerves I felt before were long gone as I focused on singing and controlling my voice so that I didn't accidentally unleash my Final Dirge power like in the bathroom earlier.

I was so into it that I never noticed Vlad appear in the very back of the stadium; thankfully no one else did either because he teleported and looked worried he might miss my performance. I'm glad he didn't because the crowd seemed to be enjoying it too as I sang my heart out. I was having so much fun too that I almost didn't want to stop, but all too soon the song ended and the stadium exploded into cheers which felt amazing. For once no one was jeering at me without giving me a chance to show what I could really do. Oh, Diana was going to eat her words now and that made this feel even better!

By the time I handed Mr. Lancer the mic and made my way backstage again I was breathless but smiling from ear to ear, and it wasn't long before I noticed Vlad waiting for me with a bright smile on his face to match mine. Panicking a little since he probably wasn't supposed to be there I phased us both through the wall into an empty room and asked him in a breathless rush, "Vlad, what are you doing back here?"

Chuckling, Vlad brushed some hair out of my face and smiled, "I'm sorry, I just couldn't wait until the end of the show and wanted to personally be the first to congratulate you for a job well done. And don't worry, I made sure no one saw me come back here. You were absolutely stunning up there."

I smiled back at Vlad warmly, hugging him briefly as I said, "Thanks, Vlad. It means a lot to me that you were able to make it in time to see me sing after all. Oh man, I have so much to tell you! And unless Diana can top that I bet I'll win for sure! That'll show that stupid Premadona who's boss!"

A bit baffled by my comment at first Vlad was about to ask who that was when her name suddenly struck a chord since I've complained about Diana before and he asked in a low measured voice, "Diana? As in the same Diana Baxter that torments you at school? Did she do something?"

"Oh yeah, she and her legion of cheerleaders tried to bully me into quitting the Talent Show since she was felt all threatened because I was singing for my act too. It's not like I did it on purpose though! I didn't even know she signed up for it. But then I told her off and recorded the whole conversation so she couldn't weasel her way out of if it I told Mr. Lancer about it. I actually got the idea from something I thought you might do and it worked!" I smirked.

"For once she couldn't do anything to frame me or make herself look innocent in front of our teachers so no one would believe me, and aside from her and a few others trying to sabotage a few other contestants, which I also stopped her from doing, by the way, things finally went smoothly for once. This is really happening, right? I actually managed to get through this without fighting a single ghost and I didn't get screwed over when just trying to do something fun for myself for once too?" I wondered, still not quite believing it myself.

Smiling fondly Vlad nodded, "Yes, it is. But whether you win or not you were still radiant up there and I'm very proud of you my dear."

"Thanks, oh and you should have seen Vallen perform his karate act! That was amazing too! Oh shit, I almost Sam's going to be going up soon for his performance so we should head back inside. You uh...want to sit next to me?" I asked unsurely, blushing a little.

Giving me an amused smirk he said, "Certainly, I have the rest of the evening to do as I please and if staying means I can spend a few more moments with you before you leave to spend the night with your friends then I'd love to. Lead the way."


	25. Vexed

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **_**Warning, more colorful swear words and angst ahead!**_ To _"GiselleVera"_ yeah I was tempted to be mean and not have Vlad make it in time but Danielle needed to catch a break after everything she's been through lately so I threw her a bone. Not that it'll last since Vlad's about to do something incredibly stupid. Also, to _"__Princess-B-Saber31" _aw, that was such a cute review! I know this story has a couple more adult themes but I still care about the relationship itself between Vlad and Danielle so it's nice to hear that there are those who are enjoying this fanfic overall. Thanks, guys!

**P.S.** Sorry about some of the typos in the first version, I didn't notice til I read this over again so I went back and fixed them.

* * *

Chapter 25: Vexed

* * *

Vlad's POV

How could I have been such a fool? I was so busy perfecting the battlesuit for young Vallen Grey that I nearly lost track of time and missed Danielle's performance! I didn't lie to her though when we spoke earlier, I actually did have a couple of things to finish up at my office in Axion Labs such as approving the list of candidates that Vallen's father Damon suggested and updating our safety regulations after the research department haphazardly disregarded some dangerous materials in a wastebasket instead of a proper disposal unit and it nearly melted a hole through the floor, which as you can imagine caused a bit of a problem.

These incidents were rarer now thankfully due to my brilliant leadership, but there were concerns that I was allowing my employees to be careless or cutting corners and I wouldn't have that. So I immediately invested the situation and found those responsible and gave them a warning. Normally I would have fired them outright like I do when someone causes a problem in one my other businesses, but since I haven't owned this lab that long I didn't want to ruin my image as a benevolent leader just yet. I remained stern though once the new regulations were in place and in no uncertain terms informed them that now that these rules were firmly in place, failing to abide by them and repeating the same mistake would result in their immediate dismissal.

At any rate, I suppose old habits die hard since I'm still a businessman after all even though the only real reason I purchased Axion Labs was to use it as a valid reason to move here and an excuse to be closer to Danielle and her family. I never expected this venture to be as lucrative as it has been however which was a pleasant surprise. That being said, for my plans to succeed I needed to prepare for every eventuality if possible once I began the next phase...

For now, this would begin with establishing Vallen as a ghost hunter in secret and creating an official task force charged with a similar job although I also wanted them to focus their efforts on hostile ghosts rather than Dani Phantom. I was going to tell Vallen the same thing once I secretly supplied him with ghost hunting gear but so long as there was only the risk of him figuring out that I sent them to him and not her secret about being half-ghost if he got too curious, then that's all that mattered to me. I don't care what happens to anyone else so long as I know Danielle is safe, and that included him even though I had every intention of keeping him and those who were chosen for this task force alive.

These people would become her shield and lift some of the burdens of protecting this town off Danielle's shoulders until I secured our status as the most powerful ghosts in both worlds to deter them from attacking this town anymore. We would claim Amity Park as our territory just as I claimed my castle in Wisconsin and this would allow Danielle to focus on more important things such as her studies, her friends and family, and most importantly...me.

Once everything was settled again I wanted to be able to hold her in my arms like before without worrying about her feeling discouraged or slipping into a restless slumber and jerking awake on reflex after a bad dream. Well, that or thinking her ghost sense went off when it hadn't. I hated seeing Danielle so tense and exhausted all the time when I know she's been trying very hard to keep up with everything. I was concerned about allowing Vallen to get too close to her too since the boy was infatuated with Danielle. Not to mention it was probably hard on her feeling like she couldn't have a normal relationship with me and it was another secret she had to keep from everyone.

Danielle has never outright told me she feels this way but I can tell she does. And ever since that incident at the mall Danielle has been somewhat reluctant to spend much time out in public with me and insisted I stop giving her rides home from school anymore which admittedly does make sense. I know she's not ashamed to be with me but this was no doubt harder on her than she cares to admit since Danielle doesn't want me to feel like she regrets choosing me. But she does miss me, that much I can tell...

That's why I felt so relieved when I made it in time to support Danielle when she needed me even for something as mundane as a Talent Show since her parents and older brother couldn't make it. It was a last-minute entry to support her friend Miss Foley and have a good time but the way Danielle's eyes glowed while she was on stage was beautiful. She looked like she was enjoying herself and radiated confidence. This became even more apparent when Danielle pulled me aside when I snuck backstage and told me all about her misadventures this evening and how proud of herself she was for handling this Diana Baxter and her lackeys and avoided a confrontation.

I was proud of her too and even more pleased when Danielle asked me to stay a little longer to watch the rest of the show with her. She clearly wanted to make the most of this opportunity to spend time with me even if it was just sitting together. And for something like this at a school event it wouldn't be such a stretch of the imagination for me to be there in person. After all, most of her peers saw me as a family friend to her parents and a doting uncle of sorts.

Either way, since Danielle had plans with her friends after this I wanted to make the most of it too and already finished my _'chore'_ for the evening which was already on its way to Vallen's home as we speak. A shame I didn't make it earlier to see the boy in action but from what Danielle told me Vallen's combat skills were very impressive. I had no doubts about that after checking his records and seeing how many awards he has won. But fighting for sport and fighting with deadly force against a real enemy were two different things so I could only hope Vallen was serious about his desire to keep Danielle safe.

Only time would tell I suppose.

* * *

As expected Samson's _'performance'_ of poetry reading was dull at best even if the words were surprisingly moving. What did he expect to happen though reciting in front of a bunch of uncultured teenagers who likely haven't read a book in their lives aside for children's book growing up and between the lines of their textbooks? This wasn't like one of those cafe's that do a poetry reading and snap their fingers. Really even with his artistic poses, those words made more than a few people yawn, myself included and even Danielle started to nod off.

Then again, she has been patrolling in addition to practicing her act and dealing with cheerleaders harassing everyone else in this Talent Show so she was likely pretty worn out, especially after singing such an involved song. Still, I doubt she wanted to fall asleep by accident so I reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze and whispering, "Danielle, you're falling asleep my dear. But he's almost done. And if no one else is performing that you know you can rest for a while until they announce the winner."

Resisting the urge to rub the sleep from her eyes since she was still wearing eyeshadow, Danielle yawned and nodded, "S-sorry, I guess I did get carried away. I mean it's better to be safe then sorry but instead of having to patrol for ghosts again too I was patrolling for a bunch of prissy pom-pom girls causing problems for everyone since they only care about winning. This whole thing was a lot more exhausting than I thought. Well, good thing I'm staying over at Sam's tonight with Trish, thankfully his home theater downstairs is soundproof so it should be pretty quiet down there. I flew across town catching as many ghosts as I could right after school too so hopefully there won't be any attacks tonight."

"Oh, I'm sure there won't be," I smiled secretly to myself, hoping that Vallen would be eager to test out his new gear before too long as a way to prove me wrong as it were about him not being aware of how dangerous it can be.

Thankfully Danielle didn't catch my last remark while busy patting her cheeks to help herself wake up more before excusing herself to go check on Samson who looked rather annoyed when he left the stage, likely feeling unappreciated for his time. That was his own fault though for choosing to do something so dull. I liked good poetry as much as the next person but hardly as a form of entertainment on stage. I waited dutifully for Danielle's return but frowned when it took longer than expected. Worried, I created an invisible duplicate to go check on her just in case a ghost DID decide to show up now of all time even though I hadn't sensed anything.

Through my duplicate, I discovered Danielle trying to calm her distressed friend who was angrily ripping up his poem and tossing it in the trash. He felt like an idiot for signing up now and being shown up by Vallen and his act. Understandably Danielle was confused since that hardly had anything to do with this. They signed up to support Miss Foley and to have fun, not to actually compete against each other-

"That's easy for you to say! You were amazing up there, but everyone was just falling asleep or ignoring me or laughing and it made me feel like such a loser! I can't do anything interesting besides reading books about myths or legends. But maybe if I actually could use magic I'd be more useful to you like Vallen is with his karate," Samson glowered.

"Sam, it's not your fault most of the people in the audience are tired after so many performances. It's pretty late now and that was a lot to sit through and we didn't even get to sit for that long! As for being useful, what's all that about? It's not like Vallen actually uses that for anything but contests unlike I do because of all the ghost fighting and I've had self-defense training with my mom and watch videos to get new ideas. It's not that big a deal. Besides, you're my friend, you don't have to be _'useful'_ to me for me to care," resting a hand on his shoulder she smiled and continued, "Spending time with you and Trish again already means the world to me because I've been feeling like we were drifting apart. And who knows what's going to happen after high school even if I do manage to graduate? But one thing is for sure, you two will never stop being my best friends."

To my surprise, Samson scoffed and muttered, "Just friends huh? You mean like how you and Vallen are _'just friends'_ now when I've seen the way he looks at you? There you go again, deciding how we feel about you when the truth is that..."

"That...what?" Danielle asked, sounding afraid of the answer as she backed away from him a little and Samson turned to face her with his eyes narrowed.

Feeling defensive though Danielle spoke up again and argued, "Sam, don't do this to me. Don't try to force your feelings on me either because Vallen already tried to and he doesn't even know the truth about me. But you do. Look, I can't worry about things like that when there are lives at stake and I'm trying to get through the next few years without falling apart at the seams. I need you, Vlad, Trish, and yes even Vallen, more than ever right now because you guys are the only people I can confide in besides my brother and he's getting ready to go ahead and head off to college. And I honestly don't know how I'm going to handle things at home by myself when he's gone and that...scares me."

"Why don't you just move in with Vlad then? He's all you talk about these days anyways and can take care of you. He might be obsessed and possessive and creepy but hey, that's your type, isn't it? You don't see anyone like that until they worship the ground you walk on and make you feel special and better than the rest of us!" Samson snapped, his shoulders and fists shaking.

I was shocked that Samson was being so cruel all of a sudden and Danielle seemed to be too since this came out of the blue. Was he jealous of her along with Vallen and myself? Did he know we were intimate? No surely not. But still, this has obviously been boiling under the surface for a while now and Samson did hate the fact that he felt useless and couldn't help Danielle as much as Miss Foley and myself since his skills were, as he said, purely reliant on obscure myths and legends.

My mind was reeling with theories and such when I heard a loud slap as Danielle's hand collided with his cheek and she yelled, "Stop it! Just stop it Sam! You don't have the right to say that to me because the truth is yes, Vlad makes me feel special but sometimes you and Trish make me feel like I'm still some kind of a freak that you're secretly scared of since you feel uncomfortable helping me fight ghosts these days or even talking about my powers! You say you accept all of me but don't always act like it so do you have ANY idea how alone that makes me feel? I can't help it that I rely on Vlad so much but he's ALL I HAVE! I don't have any books to look up information on, no other people to talk to, nothing like that! And I get that you and Trish need a break from ghosts but how do you think I feel? I've been surrounded by them EVER SINCE I WAS FUCKING BORN! Don't you think I'd like an escape from it all too?!"

Her eyes filling with tears Danielle's shoulders shook as she glared down at him still holding his cheek in disbelief and sobbed, "I just wanted today to be a good day, a quiet day, and for something to work out for ONCE! And I thought that maybe it would be even after I had to deal with Diana when she tried to ruin this for me too. But now you're the one doing it instead when we both signed up for FUN and to support Trish who JUST GOT DUMPED. Do you have any clue how much I would LIKE to have a normal enough life to even have a boyfriend I could go out in public with? No, you don't. You have options, you have time, you have everything you think I do but I don't. I don't get to have a life, Sam..."

Danielle trailed off to catch her breath but then she gasped and as if right on cue her ghost sense went off and she laughed hoarsely, wiping her eyes with the palms of her hands and snarled, "See? What did I tell you? Even if I could be with someone, with the way things are now I barely have a minute to myself, let alone a few days to spend with my friends. But if that's how you really feel then you know what? Have fun spending the night with Trish by yourself you asshole!"

And with that, Danielle abruptly transformed and phased through the roof and flew out of sight.


	26. Distressed

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: _Warning, lots of angst, depression, and more colorful swearing ahead._** Sorry for the long delay, my wifi has been down for and I was sick on top of that. Anyways, this chapter went through a couple of different versions since I couldn't decide what angle to work with but as you can see, in the end, I decided it was time to bring back some of the angst since poor Danielle's feeling like she just can't win no matter what she does. But this will only encourage Vlad to move forward with his plans to bring her out of this depression only to discover that it will ultimately make things worse before they get better...

**P.S.** I already had this chapter done but didn't get to post it but it might be awhile until the next one again since my mom is in the hospital, she should be ok but today was super stressful and I need to decompress for a few days.

* * *

Chapter 26: Distressed

(Chapter inspired by "Zen" by Jacob Lee)

* * *

Danielle's POV

After I kicked that ghost's ass, barely even registering who or what it even was before it flew off, I angrily flew back and snatched my things then left school. I somehow managed to leave Trish a quick note to let her know there was a change of plans because Sam had to go and ruin everything. I just couldn't be around him right now, not when I was this angry...

How could he say those things to me?! How could Sam accuse me of feeling like I was better than everyone just because I decided I wanted to try and win this Talent Show after all?! I thought he'd be on my side and all for putting Diana and her snobby friends in their place by winning, but I guess I was wrong.

And since when did Sam feel like he was competing against Vallen?

I know they don't exactly get along but this is getting ridiculous! The three of us were just doing our own thing for the Talent Show and its not my fault his choice to read poetry wasn't that interesting! Oh, and didn't I mention how much extra work I had to do to make sure we could even do this tonight without having to run off to deal with a ghost every five seconds? I'm pretty sure I did but did he give a damn about that? NO!

I know we were mostly doing this for Trish, but I wanted to have one fun somewhat normal day where the universe didn't screw me over so badly! Was it so much to ask for a nice weekend with my friends? And I know I should have gone back to talk to Vlad instead of running off like this but I was still livid so I flew all across town at breakneck speed searching for another ghost to take out my anger on.

Seriously it felt like I was the one constantly being ripped off and like the reason that Trish, Sam, and Vallen, that ANYONE in this fucking town had a normal life was because I worked myself to the bone EVERY DAY to make sure they were safe! But it was like the moment I did anything for myself, no matter how small it was, I was suddenly labeled as the most selfish person on the planet! How was that supposed to be fair!?

I didn't think it was too much to ask to win some silly contest and spend the weekend goofing off. So maybe Vlad was right, maybe I should say screw you to everyone in this stupid town and stop bending backwards to fight for people who didn't care about anyone but themselves. They were being the selfish ones! Maybe if they were forced to take care of it themselves they'd see how much I did for them instead of just expecting it...

I was always taught to do the right thing and help people but this was bleeding me dry. I couldn't...I couldn't find a moment's peace without struggling for every second of it! I had nowhere to escape to, not even Vlad's right now because I felt like that would only make me feel worse and prove Sam right about me relying on Vlad for everything and being something more.

Eventually, after aimlessly flying for what felt like hours, I found myself alone at the park and felt like screaming at the top of my lungs just to get rid of all this boiling anger. And after checking to make sure I really was alone, I did just that. I lifted my head towards the open sky and screamed. Thankfully it didn't come out as my Final Dirge power but I needed this, needed some way to express my feelings without taking my anger out on any more ghosts.

Less than a minute later dark clouds began gathering around me a bit and it wasn't long before they blotted out the moon and the stars and the darkness felt like it was crushing me as I fell to my knees and changed back to my human form. Looking up at the stormy skies above me just as it started to rain heavily, soaking me to the bone, I shakily got back up to my feet and ran for cover under a tree and sat down on the damp grass underneath it. And I sat there for a while wondering what I should do now...

I didn't have the energy or the willpower to fly back to Casper High so that wasn't an option. Especially not when there was still a chance Sam might be there looking for me. On the other hand, Vlad was probably worried sick since I kinda left without telling him. I owed him an explanation at the very least so with that in mind I pulled out my phone, trembling as my numb fingers brushed the raindrops off the screen while turning it back on.

It took a lot to make me feel chilled these days so shivering this much was a bit unusual for me and my teeth were chattering a bit when I reached his voicemail. Vlad might have his phone off too so I began leaving him a message and told him, "Hey Vlad, I'm sorry I ran off without telling you but there was a ghost I had to go fight and I uh-"

I felt a hard lump form in my throat that was hard to talk past but somehow I managed to continue hoarsely, "Actually, nevermind. I'll explain what happened later and I just wanted to let you know I'm alright. I'll head back home in a bit. To tell you the truth I want to be left alone right now for a bit if that's ok so don't bother looking for me. Right before I left I um...got into a big fight with Sam and stormed off. I meant to come back immediately but I needed to cool down first. I promise I'll go straight home after this so don't worry about me. Cya."

After that I hung up and wrapped my arms around my knees, loosely holding onto my phone with one hand and looking up at the sky. It felt like it was reflecting my mood, dark, gloomy, and forlorn. Checking inside my backpack I dug out my jacket since I brought it with me just in case the three of us decided to go out somewhere to eat or something, maybe even catch a movie, but there wasn't much chance of that now unless Sam apologized.

Even though I understood why I had to keep my relationship with Vlad a secret even from my friends, I still hated keeping it from them and having Sam call me out like that was heartwrenching because it brought all of my lingering doubts back to the surface. And even if Vlad and I weren't together, what I told Sam was the truth. Ever since I became half-ghost I've been wondering, how could I possibly have a normal relationship with anyone considering how many ghosts I have to fight on a daily basis? I mean, the reason I can't hold down a job either is because I'm constantly being harrassed by ghosts day in and day out so you can forget about finding enough time to go out on dates without having to run off without any explanation...

At least at home, Jason was helping me keep up with the chores around the house to keep our parents happy, which made a huge difference so I didn't have to do it all myself, but I knew I was still being a burden on him and I hated it. Having my brother keep my secret from our parents and from everyone else was hard enough so how could I possibly justify putting some random guy in danger by being with them? I'd just be a burden to them and protecting them would be a burden on me since I would never be able to tell them my secret. Which means, even if I COULD date someone normal, I wouldn't be able to rely on them and would still have to deal with everything by myself.

It feels like all I do, deal with everything by myself even now that I'm with Vlad secretly. I feel like I can't talk to Sam or Trish about anything anymore either without him coming up or things getting awkward and tense at any mention of ghosts even though I was just starting to think we were patching things up. So much for that plan since it looks like Sam is still butt-hurt that I rely on Vlad so much. But hello, he's the only person I CAN rely on since I don't have to keep anything a secret from him and we actually can fight ghosts together! Vlad might not like playing the hero, but he doesn't complain either because unlike Sam and Trish...Vlad has all the time in the world when he's not working and doesn't mind helping me.

I'm not a burden to him like I seem to be with my friends and family.

That's why if I was going to ever have a life outside of fighting ghosts, I needed to change so that I didn't have to rely on anyone, not even Vlad. That way no one could complain about how I spend my time or who I choose to spend it with. I never wanted to become a ghost hunter, not like my parents are and certainly not like this. I've tried to make the most of it by having fun trying out new things with my powers, only to be accused of showing off by both Sam and Trish but let's face it, apart from that what else did I have to show off? What other talents did I have that would do me any good outside of hunting ghosts?

What good was I to anyone...?

Closing my eyes, I decided to stop thinking about anything for a while and focused on nothing but my breathing and the sound of the rain. And despite feeling cold, the sound was very soothing. When I opened my eyes though I noticed someone walking straight towards me. At first, I assumed it was just someone else trying to escape the heavy downpour since it was coming down hard now so there was no need to panic since I was already back in human form again. But when they called my name I looked up and tried to make out who it was through the mist.

Even with my ghost hearing, I couldn't quite make out whose voice it was above the rain and thunder. If it was Sam though I was hardly ready to talk to him again so I stood up with every intention of walking around the tree and turning invisible to avoid them when I realized who it was and stopped. I didn't bother asking who it was when they came close enough for me to make out their faint outline because only one person could have found me all the way out here like this so quickly...

It was Vlad obviously, wearing a long trenchcoat and holding an umbrella over his head.

"So, you followed me after all," I smiled weakly tilting my head and turning away from him as Vlad strolled up with an unreadable expression on his face and peered down at me.

A long silence followed before Vlad gently offered me his other hand and said, "We should get out of this rain, you'll catch a cold at this rate."

I shrugged and didn't bother taking it as I shivered and stubbornly glowered, "Fine by me, it'll give me an excuse to stay home and wallow in my misery."

With a sigh Vlad closed his umbrella, set it against the tree trunk, shrugged out of his trenchcoat, and laid it over me before sitting beside me on the damp grass, pulling me close to him to keep me warm. He didn't say anything for a long time and I was thankful for that since I was in no mood to talk. I was so anxious and tense though that I ended up jerking in surprise when a loud crack of thunder shook the air. God, what was wrong with me? Since when did I let a little thunder and lightning startle me?

Once it passed Vlad repeated a bit more firmly, "There, you see? It's dangerous for us to stay out here like this regardless so we should leave so you can change out of those wet clothes before you really do catch a cold. The fact that you're still shivering can't be a good sign since I know for a fact that you don't get chilled so easily since becoming half-ghost. I'd like to make sure there's nothing strange going on with your powers if that's alright. You may go home afterward if you wish since I doubt you'll be spending the night at Samson's after that fight you two had."

_That's exactly what I was thinking earlier, weird how he's thinking the same thing,_ I wondered to myself before grumbling, "Do I have to?"

"Only if you want to," Vlad replied bluntly, offering me his hand again. "Well? Are you going to take my hand or not my dear?"

Shaking my head after remembering what Sam said about relying on Vlad too much, I stood up and handed him his trenchcoat then said, "If it's all the same to you, can we just drive around for a bit?"

"Very well. But I insist you change out of those wet clothes first," Vlad replied, draping his trenchcoat back over my shoulders like a gentleman then leading me to where he parked his car. Although his gaze remained fixated on me the entire time, the worry in them obvious despite Vlad's efforts to hide it.

* * *

After we both changed into some dry clothes, Vlad drove me around town for a while and I just stared out the window watching the rain run down the glass. I didn't feel cold anymore, just numb, empty. I was tired of trying to do things only to have them blow up in my face whether I was doing it for someone else or myself. While Vlad was changing in a nearby gas station we pulled into I checked my phone and saw all the missed calls from Sam and Trish but neither of them left a voicemail so I deleted them from my call history. Vallen sent me a text too asking if everything was ok at home because of the 'family emergency' Vlad used to cover for me not being there when they announced the winner of the Talent Show. So just to be courteous, I sent him a message back saying it was a false alarm and left it at that.

I had to stop myself from literally disappearing because that's all I felt like doing. I didn't want Vlad's comfort this time because according to Sam that was part of my problem. I didn't rely on him enough but how could I when I've been trying to keep him and Trish safe this whole time and began taking care of ghosts by myself since they _'needed a break'_ instead of dragging them out with me to patrol every night. They made it clear that they didn't want to be as involved anymore but that was their choice, how could I rely on them if they refused to be a part of what I do? A part of my life?

The two of them always complained about me not spending enough time with them and that when I did it always came back to ghosts, but it's not like I had a choice. It was part of who I am now, a part of who I've always been and I thought they understood that. I'd give anything to be even half as normal as they get to be. Normal parents, normal friends aside from me, a normal sleep schedule, normal days at school, all of those little things I used to take for granted even when I had anything even remotely close to the rest of it since I couldn't do anything about who my parents are and what they do for a living...

So how come I wasn't allowed to admire Vlad who managed to make something of himself by adapting to his powers and using them to improve his quality of life? He was the richest man in the world! He had everything he could ever want but chose to risk it for a worthless piece of shit like me. True Vlad may have cheated his way to the top but once he got his foot in the door Vlad always found a way to get things done and I've tried to do that in my own life too. I just can't do as much because I'm younger and my friends think it's wrong for me to use my powers for anything selfish like getting some payback or making people leave me alone with a little overshadowing.

But how many times has Sam's selfishness bit me in the ass or he asked me to use my powers for one of his protests like when he wanted me to set all the frogs in the Science Lab free? Oh sure when I was using them for HIS selfish desires it was fine but when I did anything for myself, even pranked someone, I got scolded for it. Trish was a bit more reasonable and supported me on that front but she also had a tendency to get jealous of my powers too and would point out when I was showing off too much. I just...there's no pleasing them even though they're supposed to be my friends.

Sometimes, even when I'm with them I feel more alone than ever because they don't understand what I'm going through. They didn't know what it was like to be deathly afraid of their parents finding out they were half of something they hated; they didn't know how frustrating it was to be given so many impossible double standards I was expected to follow to a T by my parents, peers, and yes even them; they didn't know what it was like to constantly wake up and feel threatened by some new ghost who wants to finish off what the portal started and kill me; and most of all...neither of them understood why I felt like without my powers I'm nothing. I'm not smart like Jason or Trish, not creative like Sam, not calm and collected like Vlad and Vallen, I'm nothing but a-

"Danielle, what's wrong?" Vlad suddenly asked me softly, closing the door behind him.

I was so wrapped up in my depression that I didn't even notice him get back in the car. Just like I didn't notice the hot tears rolling down my cheeks. So without looking at him, I closed my eyes and replied in a voice barely above a whisper, "Everything..."


	27. Callous

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: _Warning, lots of angst and a bit more colorful swearing ahead._** Sorry this took so long, things have been super hectic here and stressful but thankfully my mom is starting to feel better which is a relief. Anyways this chapter has been a struggle too but I hope you like it anyways! Also this kinda has a lot of Sam bashing but it's for story purposes only. The normal Sam has her flaws but I do like her so don't take this as me hating on the character overall. I'm also showing the difference between how Vlad wants to protect Danielle and how Vallen wants to, you'll see what I mean near the end.

* * *

Chapter 27: Callous

(Chapter inspired by According To You by Orianthi)

* * *

Vlad's POV

_That bastard, how dare he make Danielle cry like this?_ I thought darkly as I gripped the steering wheel tightly and drove Danielle home in silence. As much as it pained me to do so I decided that the best thing I could do for Danielle this time was let her sort these feelings out. I knew she was stronger than this, Danielle just needed to be reminded of that.

Danielle didn't bother wiping her tears away as they fell in a steady stream down her cheeks and she stared blankly out the tinted windows at the rain streaming down the glass, almost as if the very heavens were weeping alongside her. Thankfully, I always kept spare handkerchiefs around so I offered her one but Danielle wound up just holding it limply in her hands while watching the buildings go by. I considered driving down the block one more time to make sure Danielle was ready to head back to Fenton Works when I saw a familiar pair waiting for her in the doorway taking shelter from the downpour.

I could feel my eyes begin burning with anger when I saw Samson and I was just about to take that extra lap around the block to gather my thoughts when Danielle noticed them too and stiffened. She clearly wasn't ready to face them yet and frankly, I was THIS close to stepping out of the car and giving Samson a piece of my mind after what he did to her. But since that was part of his problem with me because of my aggressive behavior towards him already, I had no choice but to put her interests before my own and parked the car in front of the house...

"Are you going to be alright? We can leave if you want to, it's not too late," I offered.

Shaking her head, Danielle sighed, pausing long enough to dry her eyes so they wouldn't see that she's been crying and asked me to wait in the car. Honestly, I wanted to insist that we just leave until Danielle gave me a stern look that told me she wanted to confront Samson herself. And so I reluctantly let her go.

Personally, I sincerely hoped that Danielle wouldn't forgive him so easily for insulting her like that. His words were cruel and uncalled for after she did so much to make sure things went smoothly tonight even after a few setbacks. And even if he didn't know that her heart already belonged to me, forcing his feelings on her in a fit of anger fueled by jealousy was foolish and arrogant. But even if she did forgive him, I for one would not stand for it since Samson basically insulted me as well.

He was already on thin ice as it was after making her cry. And as I said before, I had no qualms with making his life a living hell if he hurt my little badger. Watching carefully as he rubbed his hand over the back of his head, Samson looked at Miss Foley briefly who gave him a disapproving glare and stared him down with her arms crossed then nodded for him to get on with it. That's when I realized that it must have been Miss Foley who insisted that they come here and demanded that Samson apologize to Danielle properly.

Good for her, I knew she was an intelligent young lady!

With another heavy sigh, Samson finally looked over at Danielle and told her in a deeply ashamed tone of voice, "Hey Dani? I'm...really sorry for what I said before. I shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you like that and said all those things. You didn't deserve that and were being nothing but supportive even though my poetry reading probably bored you to death too. I didn't mean to let my jealousy cause a problem either. It's just that I don't think it's a good idea to let Vallen get too close, you know? This isn't just about me not liking him. It's dangerous and I'm worried about having to keep your secret from him too along with everyone else if he starts hanging out with us all the time. Either way...Trish really let me have it when she heard what I said to you. She made me come here in person after finding your note."

"Damn straight I did!" Miss Foley frowned, swatting him on the back of the head again before turning back to Danielle, smiling sympathetically after noticing how red her eyes were even though the rain made it impossible to tell that Danielle has been crying otherwise.

Resting a hand on her shoulder, Miss Foley continued in all seriousness, "Listen, I know we haven't exactly been there for you much either. You've always been there for us even when you were dealing with so much by yourself for our sake and I'm sorry we've been taking that for granted lately. But even though I didn't actually perform you were there for me tonight, and you even missed out on a lot of the performances to keep Diana and her friends from ruining things for everyone tonight, not to mention going out on patrol twice to make sure there weren't any ghosts around to ruin things either so I get it. How could we possibly expect more from you when you've done so much for us already without us even asking you to...?"

Samson nodded after glancing back at me in the car and whispered something in Danielle's ear that I couldn't hear which slightly unnerved me but since Danielle didn't seem phased by whatever he told her I decided to let it go for now. After that, she came back to the car to talk to me. And I must say that I was relieved that she didn't look so forlorn as I rolled down the window to hear what Danielle had to say.

"Hey Vlad, thank you for everything. I'm going to go ahead and stay home tonight but since Sam apologized we'll try to talk things out a bit more on Monday. I'm too tired to talk about it any more tonight. And that reminds me, could you...do me a favor and make sure there aren't any more ghosts around that I may have missed? You don't have to catch them just...chase them off or something so I don't have to deal with any more of them tonight. Please?"

I wasn't entirely convinced that everything was as alright as Danielle was trying to make it appear. But I didn't voice my concerns apart from the obvious as I told her, "Of course, I'll take care of things tonight so you can get plenty of rest. You've earned it. And you're more than welcome, that's what I'm here for Danielle. Just remember, that should you need me for anything, and I do mean anything, do not hesitate to call me alright?"

"Alright," she replied tiredly, smiling at me. "Goodnight Vlad."

"Goodnight, my dear," I replied, smiling warmly as I rolled up the window before letting it slip because I felt ill-content with how things turned out...

I was angry that Samson hadn't apologized on his own and had to be coerced to by their mutual friend Trish Foley, that coward. I should have known the boy still had feelings for Danielle too and would grow jealous because I was allowing Vallen to become closer to her. Truth be told I shared some of his concerns and feelings of resent, but I knew better than to burden Danielle with those feelings and her heart already belonged to me. At least, I would like to believe it does even though she feels very uncertain right now and has her doubts.

Regardless, while I did want to proceed with my plans to improve the situation with all these ghosts at least I first needed to make absolutely sure that Vallen would even be up to the task. However, that does not mean I couldn't at least acquire the Ring of Rage and give it to Danielle as a gift while feigning ignorance of its true purpose. If Samson wanted to be useful he could research it himself to find out it was a ghostly relic that belonged to the Ghost King. It would take time for him to dig up anything since there was so little and they would probably have to interrogate an actual ghost to find out much more since nearly every ghost in the Ghost Zone at least knew of him and knew he was to be feared by all.

Little do they know that I am also to be feared, especially when it came to protecting my lover and ensuring her happiness was a lasting one. "Soon my dear, soon you won't have to fight ghosts at all anymore once they learn to fear your power too. Respect will win you allies that's true, but fear will make you untouchable by your enemies. I know that for a fact and it seems that I've gone too soft. So even if you may disapprove of this, I think it's high time I went back to doing whatever it takes to protect you..."

* * *

Danielle's POV

You ever have one of those nights when you're so tired you can't sleep? Well, that's pretty much what happened to me after I walked Trish back over to Sam's since she still had all her stuff there. They asked if I would reconsider staying but I repeated what I told Vlad, I was too burnt out to deal with anything else right now so I left as soon as they were settled in. I was more troubled by what Sam whispered to me though and he admitted part of it was his fault.

Apparently, Vallen heard part of our argument. Not all of it, thank GOD, but enough to make me worry. Vallen confronted Sam about it too and asked what that was all about and where I ran off to. But since I actually flew off he had to cover for me and say he didn't know which was ironically the truth. As if I didn't have enough to worry about! Now Vallen might be getting suspicious just like Sam was worried he'd be but whose fault was that hmm...?

Anyways I really did try to get some sleep but I couldn't, I just stared blankly at the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling of my bedroom. Lazily I lifted a hand and started making up imaginary constellations by tracing them with my finger. I made a few pretty cool ones so I jotted them down in a notebook just because. Eventually, I finally began to zone out and fell asleep as the fake stars gave way to real ones and I found myself flying in a vast empty space filled with nothing but stars floating like fireflies in the darkness and dancing around me. It was really beautiful and helped cheer me up a little, looking at the stars often had that effect on me so I smiled and followed the brightest star until it led me to, well, the best way I can describe it was like a waterfall of stars as if hundreds of them were falling in a condensed area and shooting up sparks as they crashed into some unseen surface.

Since I wanted to take a closer look I flew down to the bottom and it was like I was standing on a smooth obsidian surface with the white-hot fragments of shimmering light falling at my feet at the bottom of this mysterious waterfall of shooting stars. The sound the shattering stars were making was very pretty actually, like the tinkle of bells, but then I heard a different sound. There was a soft clatter that stood out from the rest as something fell and rolled away into the darkness. I barely caught what it was before it faded out of sight completely but before I could take a better look at it-

I woke up.

* * *

Vallen's POV

_"...I get that you and Trish need a break from ghosts but how do you think I feel? I've been surrounded by them EVER SINCE I WAS FUCKING BORN! Don't you think I'd like an escape from it all too?! I just wanted today to be a good day, a quiet day, and for something to work out for ONCE! And I thought that maybe it would be even after I had to deal with Diana when she tried to ruin this for me too. But now you're the one doing it instead when we both signed up for FUN and to support Trish who JUST GOT DUMPED. Do you have any clue how much I would LIKE to have a normal enough life to even have a boyfriend I could go out in public with? No, you don't. You have options, you have time, you have everything you think I do but I don't. I don't get to have a life, Sam..."_ Those words kept repeating in my head as I sat at my computer desk, lost in thought about everything that happened tonight. Dani never answered any of my texts so I had no choice but to keep waiting, hoping she was doing ok...

As soon as I got the chance to I left to see if Dani's leg was feeling any better and went backstage again since she was probably there with her friend Sam after that snorefest trying to cheer him up. But when I heard her voice in the distance she sounded upset so I followed it to see what was wrong, afraid there was a ghost or a cheerleader harassing her or something. I was nearly there when some other classmate stopped me again, complimenting how cool I was, and I almost had to shove them aside to get them to move out of my way so I could get to where I was going.

Seriously, why couldn't they just leave me alone for five minutes? Especially that one girl that keeps begging me to ask her to prom, I swear to god she's been everywhere lately! I mean...I'm not as popular anymore since I stopped hanging out with Paul and Diana even though my dad's still loaded thanks to Dani's help hooking him up with Vlad Masters so why do they keep fawning over every little thing I do? On the other hand, why was it so hard to get Dani to notice me? Well, sadly I found out the answer to that personally when I heard her shout those words at her friend. She touched on things being complicated before but I didn't realize things were THAT bad right now...

By the time I got there, Dani was nowhere to be found. Damn, that girl moved fast, she should really think about running track! Anyways, when I spotter her friend Sam he was sitting on the floor looking stunned and holding his cheek which had a nasty red mark on it so she must have slapped him really hard. Personally, I don't really like the guy, he's pretty preachy and selfish but then again I used to be a pretty big jerk myself so if I wanted to be friends with Dani and hopefully get her to warm up to me I had to get to know her friends too. Trish seemed pretty cool so far and we could relate but Sam, well, his whole goth thing was all about making himself less approachable by other people who didn't agree with him.

Don't get me wrong, I was pissed at Sam for whatever he did to set Dani off but first I needed to find out what happened so I played it cool and pretended to only just notice him sitting on his ass in the middle of the floor. "What the hell happened? Did Diana do that after you guys foiled her plans to cheat her way to the grand prize?"

Glaring at me, Sam stood up and dusted himself off without meeting my gaze and grumbled, "What's it to you?"

"Cool it, man, I just wanted to make sure they didn't pull anything else," I said, crossing my arms before sighing and dropping the act. Giving him a hard glare I told him, "Actually, that's not why I'm here. I heard raised voices and one of them was Dani's so...what happened? You can either tell me yourself or I'll go ask her myself."

"Nothing happened, we just...look it's none of your business anyway so I don't have to tell you anything," Sam said, rubbing his sore cheek again.

"You're wrong about that. Dani's my friend too you know and it was a stupid move on your part to take your frustration about things out on her. She was just trying to help. From what I could gather from the little bit of that argument I heard, you probably snapped at Dani and decided to vent which put her on the spot, didn't you? I made the same mistake of telling her how I felt at a bad time but at least I had the good sense to back off and give Dani some breathing room to figure some things out on her own," leaning against the opposite wall I decided now was a good a time as any to tell him where things stand and that we were basically rivals. I liked Dani too but this wasn't about either of our feelings, it was about helping her since she's clearly dealing with something more serious than I thought...

Crossing my arms I stared unfocused at the floor and continued, "Look, you have every right to dislike me for how I used to treat you guys, but ultimately it's her choice if she wants to be friends with me or not. You need to respect that. And I get that you've been friends for a long time but that doesn't mean you own her, in fact, you've had plenty of time to tell her how you really feel and you either didn't know how much she meant to you until now when someone else finally started to notice how awesome she is, or you were too scared of losing what you have now to say anything. But the way I see it, it doesn't matter which one of us makes the next move on Dani because she's dealing with a lot of shit right now and needs us to be there as her friends. I don't know exactly what's going on but you better apologize for whatever you did to make her run off or that will just make it easier for me to become the shoulder she comes to cry on."

"I don't need you to tell me that," Sam admitted before snapping, "I know all that already. But I don't trust you and neither should she! You'll never understand the sort of shit she has to deal with every day at home and at school. If you were really her friend you'd start defending her more against your popular 'friends' who keep bullying Dani and making her life a living hell like they did tonight instead of only showing up at the last minute and doing nothing else before that! She doesn't need your pity and neither do I!"

After that, he ran off but I didn't follow him, I was taking a few deep breaths to keep myself from kicking his ass myself for being so stubborn. He did have a point though, I haven't been doing nearly enough to actually help Dani so I needed to shape up too. I mentioned that before but I wasn't just saying that I wanted to get closer to Dani's friends so that I could ask her to be my girlfriend. I sincerely wanted to help, I just didn't know enough about what was going on besides ghosts being the root of the problem. I was still pissed that Mr. Masters wouldn't let me join his task force but maybe if I could somehow convince him-

Well, that's what I kept thinking anyway but that brings me to the other reason I can't sleep right now and am sitting at my desk like this. You see, under my bed, there's a box that I've been staring at in total disbelief since I got home after finding out what was inside so I stepped away from it so I could think about this carefully and not rush in. It was ghost fighting gear, expensive stuff too and I didn't know what to make of it. Who heard me say I wanted to help fight ghosts to stop them from hurting Dani? I know Mr. Masters did but was I being watched by someone else? And if I was, did I really care? This is what I wanted and after trying it on once I knew dad would be staying at the lab overnight to work on something for Mr. Masters it just felt right. If I wanted to prove how real my feelings were, I needed to start by actually doing something for Dani. Sam was right about that.

The only difference was I would be doing the one thing even Sam can't do even as Dani's friend, and so with a smirk, I said to myself while turning back to face my bed to retrieve the box, "Alright, I've made up my mind. Starting tonight, I'm going to start fighting ghosts. That'll show Sam how helpful I can really be, more than he could be obviously. Don't worry Dani, I've got your back this time."


	28. Foreshadowing

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **I lost track of a few story elements that have been changed but just fyi, since I made Vallen a ghost hunter just like Valerie after all with a few changes I'll be giving him an upgraded battlesuit that's like a hybrid of Valerie's first outfit that Vlad made her and the one Technus constructed. You can see it on my Deviantart page since I drew it, just look up SecretSigil and search my gallery for Vallen Grey. Anyways, the other difference here is that Vallen may not trust Danielle's persona as Dani Phantom but they're not really enemies in this story. They're more like rivals sort of even though Vallen became a ghost hunter to protect Danielle's human self, Dani Fenton. So that's how I'll write this, they'll be sort of reluctant allies in some fights until Danielle finds out it's Vallen behind the mask and that's when she'll start to wonder how this happened.

* * *

Chapter 28: Foreshadowing

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Danielle's POV

Vlad must have taken care of things like he said he would because even though I woke up once after that weird dream I was able to fall asleep again and didn't get up until almost 10 am when hunger finally motivated me to get out of bed. So after helping myself unwind and wake up with a nice hot shower I got dressed and tried to think of something I could do to keep my mind off of things for a while since I wasn't in the mood to deal with the awkwardness with Sam even though he apologized. I appreciated Trish having my back though after we did all that to try and cheer HER up. Now the tables have turned and I'm the one struggling with depression...

When I saw the small trophy from the Talent Show with the gift card tucked under it along with a note from Vlad though, I couldn't help but smile a little at what it said:

_I know they had to improvise when there was no clear winner for the Talent Show at Casper High, but frankly $25 dollars seemed like a poultry sum so I took the liberty of replacing that card for one with $100 instead since I for one feel you should have won. You sang like an angel, my dear. I would have given you more, but then you would have scolded me for _"wasting money"_ on you. Either way, please treat yourself with something nice with this Danielle. I insist._

Staring at the card, I recalled what Sam said and wondered aloud, "Could Sam be right about me? Am I letting Vlad spoil me too much...?"

Shaking my head I sighed and tucked the card away in my wallet and muttered, "Sam has always said money can't buy happiness and I believe it to a degree but...when your allowance is barely ten bucks it's depressing. Even Trish's parents give her more than that and the only reason I have more than that now is because Vlad talked to my parents and convinced them to increase it as motivation to keep on top of my chores and studies. It's easy for Sam to say those things out there since he's never had to worry about having enough money to buy the things he wants. I barely even get what I want for my own birthday."

It was coming up pretty soon actually, my birthday, and I really hoped that things would be back to normal between us by then because I still wanted Sam and Trish to celebrate it with me like we always do. I'll be turning seventeen this year which brought me one step closer to feeling like I could really be with Vlad once I became a legal adult. My heart ached with uncertainty at that thought because I wasn't sure what that would mean, I didn't know what the future holds and like I told Sam my brother would be leaving soon so by the end of this school year even though I would be a Senior next year and most of the bullies I dealt with would be leaving too it would be my first year dealing with my parents by myself which has been bothering me more than I let on until last night.

True I still had Vlad but he couldn't be with me 24/7. And the way I see it things could go one of two ways, either my parents would forget I exist as usual or they'd start pressuring me to take over the family business again now that Jason wouldn't be around to distract them with other things. Either way, I needed to get out of here before that happened and yet I was already sorta stuck in the family business technically. I'm half-ghost and fight them already but I'm still afraid of what might happen if I stopped fighting ghosts and leave this town behind. It's not like the ghosts I usually fought would just stop coming here, not unless my parents got rid of their portal which was unlikely. So, for now, I had to believe that what Vlad was working on really would help me and trust him to set things up so I could go live my own life.

I guess that's the hardest part of all of this, I turned down Vallen and Sam when they hinted at having feelings for me because Vlad was the person I loved but couldn't be with like a normal person. Figures the timing was all messed up. Sometimes I wonder what my life could have been like if I could have a boyfriend I didn't have to hide from the world, someone who wasn't just another secret I had to keep. It was like I was with him and yet felt more alone than ever when I saw couples holding hands or kissing at the park or in the movies. I couldn't do any of that with Vlad. If someone saw us doing that in the open it would ruin everything and no amount of overshadowing could change that.

So many thoughts kept going through my head and because I kept worrying about all the 'what if' scenarios the rest of the day. I remember walking to the mall by myself and aimlessly wandering around for a while, eventually deciding to get a game with the upgraded gift card Vlad gave me along with lunch and a bunch of snacks to sneak into the movie theater. People like to pretend they don't do that but most of us do, and it's not like anyone really checks for candy contraband...

I figured there was at least one movie I wanted to see still showing and it was a good way to kill some time. Normally I would have stayed up watching movies and playing games with Sam and Trish so at least I was doing something along those lines on my own. The game I got had some good reviews so I looked forward to playing it when I got home.

The movie was only halfway done when Technus showed up and when I left the theater to deal with it and found out he was the ghost I sensed I found him raiding an electronics store. That was so typical of Technus. After that, I had just ducked into an isolated spot to transform when I saw a flash of red fly past me and someone else attacked him before I could with an energy ray. "What the hell?"

Holding off on transforming just yet I peeked around the corner and saw someone decked out in a red battlesuit confronting Technus, threatening to shoot again if they didn't surrender. I had a really bad feeling about this whether this ghost hunter was one of Vlad's new people or not because the suit they were wearing was very high tech, which meant going against a ghost who could control technology was a bad idea. My heart was telling me to rush in and help as usual but my head was telling me to wait it out and see what would happen. I still didn't know if this guy was a potential ally or someone I would have to watch out for but knowing my luck it was probably the latter.

_I can always step in if it looks like he's really in trouble_, I thought and nodded to myself then turned invisible and stepped out into the open to get a closer look.

Looks like I went out just in time too because Technus was getting annoyed at being told what to do by some random gun-slinging punk so he summoned as many surrounding electronics as he could and sent them after the guy in red on his overboard. He seemed a bit unsteady on it as he backed it up and zoomed away to outrun the electronics chasing him across the mall but he was still pretty fast so I saw him increase the speed of his board and he dove straight for a wall before pulling up sharply and the stuff Technus sent after him didn't phase in time and smashed against the wall.

Smart move, too bad it made him lose his balance and he fell from the board onto the ground with a dull thud after pulling out of his maneuver too soon instead of using the momentum to right himself after completing a full loop. I watched as the board homed in on him and floated back to his side, lowering itself so he could climb back up. Rubbing his sore bottom, he hovered a little higher again and once the mysterious hunter righted himself he began looking around for Technus who didn't seem like he was in the mood to play games with _'amateurs'_ and had long since left the building after sending those electronic devices to go chase the guy in red all over the place.

Lifting his arm and pressing a few buttons before anything happened, a screen popped up and he grumbled, "Damn it, where did you go? That ghost must be around here somewhere. Doesn't this thing have a tracking device? Maybe it's in the helmet..."

That voice...it sounded so familiar so I stepped closer without thinking and an alarm went off in his suit and I flinched back. It caught him by surprise too as he tried to pinpoint the source. Panicking, I phased through the floor without a second thought and got the hell out of there and well out of range just in case that guy's gear actually did detect me. But who WAS he? Did Vlad know him? I could have sworn I saw several V designs on that battlesuit but I could be wrong and this guy was just another fanatic who moved to town once they found out it was good hunting grounds for ghosts like the Guys In White.

My parents talked about them a lot but thankfully I've never had the pleasure of meeting them, thank god, and I hoped I never would since they were supposedly a branch of the government dedicated to hunting ghosts and other otherworldly beings like aliens or whatever. Which given the fact that ghosts were real, maybe aliens were too which I think is actually kind of exciting. Anyways, whoever that guy was it was clear that he wasn't a ghost. I never sensed anything from him so that gear was a lot like my parent's ghost hunting stuff only much better looking and expensive. That's why I had a feeling that Vlad might have something to do with this, otherwise...that meant there was a brand new ghost hunter in town.

* * *

Even though I wasn't ready to talk about the other stuff that happened between us I felt like this was really important so since I wasn't sure what to tell Vlad I sent Sam and Trish and invite to voice chat on my computer later that evening. I was hoping they'd still be at Sam's since it was Saturday and thankfully I was right on the money because they answered right away. I told them what happened at the mall and admitted that I was feeling lonely while I was there and wished things weren't so weird between us, but Sam told me he realized what an asshole he was being and would try not to get like that anymore...

But I wasn't holding my breath.

_"You said you recognized his voice, didn't you? That's so weird. There's no way that guy could be someone we actually know, right?"_ Trish wondered aloud, tapping her chin. _"I wonder if I could hack into the security cameras in the mall to see when this guy showed up exactly. Might take a little time but if we sneak in tonight-"_

_"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on,"_ Sam interrupted, _"Are you sure that's a good idea? What if they find out we were poking around and then start snooping right back? What if Dani shows up on the security tapes too?"_

"Good point, maybe we should delete any footage we find of me too," I nodded and Trish gave me an impish smile while Sam groaned. "Relax, I'm just joking. It's too soon to assume anything but I need to figure out how to approach Vlad about it-" I hesitated a bit bringing him up after what Sam said and felt my cheeks start to burn and likewise he looked away from me too.

Looking between the two of us, Trish sighed and said, _"Look, if it makes you feel any better I'm serious about hacking into the cameras if you wanna find out more about this red hunter guy. It'd be easier to do it directly from their control room but I can do it from here too. It should be super easy since this is just the security for a small-town mall. I doubt they'd really notice anything that wasn't painfully obvious if somebody tampered with it. You wanna come over while I work on this? We really did miss having you here last night."_

Smiling I considered her offer and was about to turn it down when Sam added,_ "She's right, I get that things have been...weird between us but I promise I won't be such a jerk this time. Vallen was right about that, you're my best friend and if I want it to stay that way I need to shut the hell up before saying something stupid like that. You don't have to stay overnight either, we just want to help you figure this out like we always do. At least this is something we can handle without much thought,"_ he smiled and it seemed genuine which helped me relax so I nodded and agreed to meet up with them in front of Sam's house.

I wasn't sure what I expected to find out but something about this unnerved me. If this red hunter did have something to do with Vlad's project then why didn't he give me a heads up? I'm sure he would have told his employee's to ignore me in my ghost form since I wasn't a hostile ghost but its possible that they might disagree and shoot me anyways or chase me off to take care of the ghost themselves which could be dangerous for them since I had actual powers and honestly more real-time experience fighting ghosts.

Whoever this guy was he was a total newbie but surprisingly fast, strong, and quick thinking. But Technus was probably one of my weakest enemies honestly and my enemies were still pretty strong overall. I'm just glad I didn't have to deal with Skulker anymore thanks to Vlad. Either way, there was something strange going on and I couldn't shake this strange feeling that there was something going on behind the scenes that I didn't know about.

I just didn't know who was pulling the strings...


	29. Trepidation

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Sorry for the delay, I was having some serious writers block with this. Hopefully, you'll like the chapter and I am trying to speed things up so we might have to time skip again soon to bring on the drama, only this time it might be Vlad who ends up in trouble. Hint hint nudge nudge. lolz

**P.S.** Don't you hate when you only notice errors after a chapter is posted? So I went back and fixed them.

* * *

Chapter 29: Trepidation

* * *

Danielle's POV

"That's so weird, I checked all of the recordings starting around the time you saw this guy in red, but I'm not finding anything. Like, at all. Everything goes fuzzy as soon as Technus showed up," Trish sighed, giving up and backing out of all her hacking stuff before turning to me and Sam who were sitting on opposite sides of the sofa behind her while she closed her laptop.

Shrugging I added, "I'm not surprised, Technus did send a bunch of electronics to chase him off so maybe it messed up the cameras too? He's been known to mess up electronics. Still, I appreciate you looking into it for me." I smiled at her and she smiled back just as the two of us started thinking the same thing. Sam was being awfully quiet even for him and it wasn't because of his moody goth image...

"Normally I'd think so too," Trish explained, looking deep in thought, "But that's just it, even the cameras that were way on the other side of the mall were affected too. All of them were. It's like someone used Technus showing up as an excuse to corrupt the files. Maybe Sam's onto something after all and they're trying to hide the identity of our new ghost hunter friend."

"Friend? Yeah right," Sam frowned, finally speaking up and looking up at me with concern, "I know it's my fault we weren't with you when this happened but promise me you'll be more careful from now on, ok? We don't know what he's after or who he works for and I guarantee if he's like most the ghost hunters we know he'll shoot first and ask questions never."

Truth be told I shared his concerns but I couldn't shake the feeling this guy was different then the others and I wanted to believe he'd at least hear me out if we met. I wasn't about to go looking for him, not yet, because I wanted to make sure this was unrelated to Vlad's current project anyway. Still, there was no point in trying to figure all this out now so my next stop was Vlad's. Because despite how Sam felt about him and our relationship on the surface, I trusted him...

More than that I loved him and Vlad had no reason to lie to me if he was involved with this guy somehow. I'd happily welcome a helping hand even if it wasn't direct to reduce my workload hunting ghosts. He'd want to know things were going a little better now even though I still had plenty to talk about with Sam and Trish. I needed to know if they still wanted their _'break from ghosts,'_ aka to quit going on patrols with me, or if they were willing to help me like before by at least standing by with a thermos.

After coming over here I had a good feeling that Trish was still on my side and realized I still had her back too. But Sam, well, things with him were a bit more complex. He cared about me obviously, the only problem is Sam cared too much and so did Vallen and as flattered as I was I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't worry about relationships with so much on my plate. I haven't even spent the night with Vlad since that whole thing with the banshee happened because I was either too tired or too stressed out.

I still wanted to be with him though. Despite all my doubts I couldn't betray Vlad, and if I'm being honest...I was worried about what would happen if I did. Vlad once loved my mother to the point of wanting to break apart her marriage and he...killed a man trying to protect me so there's no telling what else he's capable of. He's done so much for me and changed but part of me wonders if its only skin deep and there's still a darkness within him I've been trying to ignore. Scratch that, I know there is but I told myself I didn't care as long as no one got hurt. And true, after Freakshow he hasn't harmed anyone physically aside from the banshee but Vlad has seriously scared a few people which was very unsettling.

I think that's why I owe it to myself and to him to make sure Vlad isn't going overboard with this whole ghost hunter thing and hiring people to use as cannon fodder to lift this crushing weight off my shoulders. I didn't mind carrying some of it, I'm just tired of carrying all of it but at the same time, I didn't want innocent people getting hurt by biting off more than they could chew. The same goes for this red hunter guy. It's hard enough to protect civilians standing on the sidelines, but someone jumping into the middle of the fray...? Yeah, good luck with that.

Anyways, I needed to find out where everyone stood so that I could figure out what I should be doing. Things couldn't go on like this where I didn't know who I could rely on anymore or if Vlad was still keeping secrets. I didn't want to be treated like a child anymore. And I didn't want to be treated like...this. I just wanted to know that my friends, family, and Vlad would be there for me when I needed them and that I was strong enough to be there for them too to keep everyone safe.

* * *

It was late afternoon by the time I left Sam's and Trish was sad I didn't change my mind and stay for the rest of the weekend but I kinda had a mystery to solve. Besides, I wanted to talk to Vlad in person and show him I was doing better after he dropped me off at home last night since he wasn't entirely convinced. And to tell you the truth neither was I. That's when it occurred to me that I haven't talked to Vallen since everything happened and I needed to talk to him too.

"I wonder if he's home. Ugh, where does he live again? I know they moved into a nicer place then that apartment and didn't move back into their old house so where could they-" pulling out my phone, I thought about calling him but I wasn't entirely sure what to say. I was even sort of afraid to know exactly how much he overheard me screaming in Sam's face before I ran off.

I haven't really been able to talk to Sam about what happened between them with the tension between us and this new mystery so maybe it would be better to just tackle this more on Monday. I'd see them both at school and we could find somewhere to talk things out at least as far as our friendship goes...

_Yeah, better tackle things one at a time,_ I nodded to myself and called Vlad instead.

To my surprise he picked up right away this time, his voice mirthful that immediately reassured me for some reason as Vlad asked, _"Good evening Danielle, are you feeling any better today, my dear?"_

"Sort of, I had kind of a weird day but I did hang out with Sam and Trish for a bit without too much of a problem. Anyways, do you have time to talk? There's something I need to ask you and I'd rather do it in person," I asked, my heart hammering for some reason.

_"I was just about to go to a dinner appointment but I can cancel it,"_ Vlad offered like it was no big deal.

I felt my heart sink in disappointment when he said this so I said, "No, it's ok I'll just stop by tomorrow I guess."

_"Danielle, it is really no trouble at all. The only reason I planned this outing is because I wanted to give you some space. But I've already taken care of everything I need to at the moment and this was just a way to occupy myself tonight. Frankly, I would much rather spend this time with you,"_ he told me honestly, his voice gentle and heartfelt.

How could I say no to that?

I swear my heart was beating so loud I'm sure he could hear it through the receiver of his phone, but I was happy to hear him say that and smiled, "Thanks Vlad, that was really thoughtful since I kinda did need some time to clear my head. And as long as it isn't a problem I would like to spend some time with you too. Well, actually I was going to ask if you weren't busy when I called anyway. I have so much to tell you."

_"Don't worry my dear, they'll live even if we have to reschedule since they know I am a busy man and they're lucky I'll even bother to do so given what an important person I am. Most would sell their souls to the devil just for five minutes of my time,"_ Vlad laughed before adding, _"Ah that reminds me, this is actually perfect timing since I have something to give you. I thought it best to do that in person so I am more than happy to cancel my dinner arrangement. I will call them in just a moment and I'll see you soon, Danielle."_

* * *

I'm not sure why I was so nervous when I got there but I was, I didn't know where to begin or how to tell him what I saw without sounding like I was accusing him of keeping secrets from me. Vlad was bound to still have a few and I could respect that as long as it wasn't something about me. Whoever this new ghost hunter was had high tech gear and it was all very sleek and personal so my first thought was that if Vlad had nothing to do with him then maybe the government did now that they were taking things seriously as far as there being ghosts here. Not like I expected them to do much except cause more problems or waste time _'studying'_ ghosts like my parents instead of actually doing anything to stop them from putting people in danger.

Sure Vlad had his people studying them too but he actually was trying to help, more for my sake than anyone else but hey that's better than nothing! I just couldn't stand not knowing one way or another. I wanted to just talk to Vlad first which would help me calm down so when he invited me to sit down with him while dinner was cooking I did. After that, I asked how his day went and Vlad told me he finished most of what he needed to and the rest was a waiting game so he used that time to look into something else that might help me. Curious I sidled closer to Vlad when he pulled out a sleek black metal box and opened it to reveal a very creepy looking ring.

It was a ghostly green with an onyx in the center with a skull set with rubies for the eyes which glowed eerily, I could tell there was something otherworldly about it so I quirked an eyebrow at Vlad and joked, "If this is your idea of a promise ring I bet you imagine me wearing a black dress and veil for the wedding huh?"

Taking the ring out of the box Vlad smiled at me and joked in return, "Trust me, my dear, if that day ever comes you will be wearing the most extravagant gown money can buy in whatever color you wish if the traditional white is not to your liking and a far more personalized wedding ring. As for this ring, it has a more practical use. You see, with this you'll be able to focus your raw ecto-energy more effectively than usual and it will draw out more of your hidden potential if my theory is correct. It's called the Ring of Rage. The name may be slightly off-putting but I can assure you that the best part of wearing this is it should be easier for you to harness ecto-energy in general. I've tested it myself to make sure it's safe, but since I'm already so powerful it's much harder to tell if there's any difference in my power level. Regardless, I wanted to give this to you in the hopes of it helping you defend yourself easier against stronger enemies who may appear in the near future. May I?"

Reaching for my hand expectantly, I hesitantly reached out and gave it to him and his fingers deftly lifted my knuckles to his lips, kissing them before promising me there was nothing to fear so I relaxed a bit. It felt weird that Vlad was giving me this valuable ghost artifact out of the blue like this but if it was supposed to help then I trusted him. I was curious to know where he got it though...

I was just about to ask when a chill ran up my spine and I felt the ring shrink to fit my finger perfectly after he slipped it on, at first I thought my ghost sense was going off until I realized it was the rush of power I felt ripple through me that gave me that odd chill. I felt like I was more aware of myself, of my energy and I felt this weight in my chest that wasn't there before. Or at least I wasn't aware of it til now. It felt cold but in a refreshing way so I was about to tap into it when Vlad brought me back to reality when he asked me how I felt.

Still in awe of the difference I felt, I replied, "Whoa, it feels like...I'm more aware of my ghost-half right now. That is SO bizarre, but not in a bad way. Just different I guess. Is this anything like how you felt?"

"To some extent yes, although my potential is nearly at its peak already," leaning forward to rest his forehead against mine while holding my hand, Vlad smiled and continued, "But you are a perfect example of what a half-ghost should be, you're so full of limitless potential and I wanted you to be able to get a taste of that feeling for yourself. If it's too much to handle you don't have to wear it all the time. Just promise you'll keep it with you and don't let anyone know you have it, especially none of your enemies since they may attempt to steal it from you. Relics of this nature are hard to come by but I had a feeling it might help you until I finish setting up my task force to take on the bulk of your ghost hunting...duties."

"Vlad...thank you," I smiled, not sure what else to say.

We sat like that for a long time and I really wanted to kiss him right now but I couldn't let myself get distracted just yet. I still had something important to ask him. And so, after reluctantly pulling away from him I stood up and since he was still holding my hand I led him up with me and said, "I bet your chef is done with dinner by now, let's go sit down and I can tell you why I came over tonight. And maybe after since I don't have anywhere else I need to be right now we can..." smoothing out his suit jacket with my free hand I tried to look up alluringly at him but failed since I was so embarrassed and my cheeks were burning at the thought of asking him to sleep with me.

Vlad looked at me adoringly and replied in a low suggestive voice, "I thought you would never ask my dear, but let's see what else the night has in store for us first shall we? I don't want you to push yourself to do this just because I gave you that little trinket, especially since you had such a difficult day yesterday. But if that will make you happy then I relish the idea of sleeping with you tonight. I must admit...I have been thinking of you all day. Thinking of ways to make you feel better..."

"Vlad..." I pouted, feeling flustered, "Don't tease me like that right now. I was serious when I said I needed to talk to you and I don't need that sort of distraction over dinner. I've missed you too and I want you, bad. But if we get started before I ask you about what happened today I never will so let's go eat and I'll tell you everything. S-so no more flirting until then ok?"

With a soft chuckle, Vlad leaned down and kissed my cheek and with a snarky tone he added, "I make no promises if you insist on acting so adorably flustered my dear. But I'll at least try to behave. For now."

"Brat," I scoffed, bumping into him with my hip as we walked to the dining room hand in hand with the odd new ring glowing on my finger.


	30. Diverted

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: Warning, erotic moments and sex scenes ahead!** Finally, things have calmed down enough for some sexy times! Cause I mean why not right? It's another good way to distract Danielle from worrying too much about things Vlad doesn't want her catching wind of just yet. He's a master at half-truths so let's see how long Vlad can keep up the act before things go to hell again when he realizes it might be a bad idea to mess with someone as ancient as the Ghost King and his artifacts without knowing what strings are attached to taking his place...

* * *

Chapter 30: Distracted

* * *

Danielle's POV

I don't know if it's because of the ring, but I felt like I had so much extra energy it was difficult to stay on topic when I was telling Vlad what happened since I was so animated. I started my story from the very beginning where I found the giftcard that he traded out oh-so-sneakily for one with more money on it and thanked Vlad for doing that then told him how I went to the mall for a bit and wandered around for a while before deciding what to do with that money. And somehow I got into actually telling him about the game I bought just before heading to the theater and was surprised when Vlad said he's heard of it.

I didn't peg him for much of a gamer, but then I had to remind myself that yes, Vlad was a teenager too at one point in his life even if the games were different back then. And I guess at some point I must have told Vlad the story about how we trapped Technus in a glitch in the previous game once then forgot he was in there and accidentally set him loose again when we deleted the game to free up space on my computer since we weren't as into it anymore. Frankly, I haven't seen him around much until what happened in the mall which brought us back to the reason why I was here. I still wanted to ask him about the guy in red I saw...

"So when I saw Technus again today I was going to fight him but someone beat me to it and I was wondering if you knew anything about it. He was wearing red and black and riding this fancy hoverboard and armed with some really fancy gadgets. That's I was wondering if he was one of your people and you forgot to tell me they were training in the field or something. We tried hacking into the mall's security system to see if they caught anything about this guy on camera but the files were corrupted. Was that your doing?" I asked, unconsciously leaning forward in my seat.

"Now now Danielle, slow down a bit my dear and I'll answer your questions. But first. perhaps you should take off the ring for now. It seems to be giving you a little too much access to your dormant energy," Vlad pointed out, resting his hand over mine.

_He's got a point, I've been acting pretty hyper like I just chugged three gallons of coffee,_ feeling slightly embarrassed I pulled off the ring and set it on the table and frowned a little. "I sure hope it doesn't start feeling addictive to wear this. It feels like I lost something instead of just went back to normal. Vlad, are you sure this ring isn't dangerous...?"

Taking a moment to gather his thoughts Vlad admitted, "There are risks I'll admit but the benefits greatly outweigh them. I just want you to be safe and not feel so exhausted all the time. I thought this might help but I agree, moderation is key."

After that Vlad thought he was being all sly about dodging my other questions by taking a few more bites of his meal but I hadn't forgotten about them. I just wanted to know if this guy in red was one of his or not, it should be a simple question to answer, right? So why was he-

"As for this ghost hunter you encountered-" Vlad began before I could say anything else, "-As far as I am aware, Mr. Grey hasn't finished scouting out recruits for this task force we're forming so whoever this person is, what they're doing is unrelated to our operations. Whats more the Guys in White have a very strict all-white dress code so unless they're part of a special unit this is likely someone acting on their own. It's certainly worth looking into to make sure they won't get in your way..."

Blinking I nodded and said, "Well, yeah, I'm not sure if this is someone I need to give a wide berth to or not and they have to have someone backing them since someone went through the trouble of covering their tracks by using Technus's powers as an excuse for corrupting all the files even on the far side of the mall where it shouldn't have been able to reach."

Sighing and leaning back in my seat I added, "That's a relief though, I was worried you were doing something behind my back again or it just slipped your mind to warn me about a new ghost hunter if you knew there was one. And this is going to sound crazy but I feel like I know him from somewhere. If there's someone else taking on the hero gig I don't mind as long as they leave me alone, the last thing I need is one more enemy."

"Understandable my dear, you have come across more enemies than I would like so I'll keep working on this so you'll have some indirect backup who can actually fight. Which reminds me, I was thinking of trying to train with you again for a few hours after school if things between you and your friends is still...strained. I thought it would be a good distraction," Vlad explained, looking at me expectantly.

I'll admit that did sound like a good idea. Maybe not every day but I was sick of feeling so tired and weak and being caught off guard so maybe it would be nice to train. Who knows, maybe we could do some _'field training'_ where I could sorta get Vlad to come with me on patrols and just shadow me so we could set up a lesson plan. That way I would feel less alone if Sam and Trish couldn't help me and I could show Vlad how I hunt ghosts. So with a smile, I said, "Actually, that sounds like a great idea. We might not be able to do it every day but I think Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday would be good days for me. What about you?"

"That sounds perfect, as I said I've taken care of most of the more pressing issues for now and have more time to devote to helping you more directly again. And now seems like the perfect time since you clearly need someone there to support you," leaning forward in his seat, Vlad brushed my lips with a gentle fleeting kiss and said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "We can work out the details more during the week but for now...I believe you wanted to do something a bit more recreational."

Nodding I mutely kissed him back, cupping my hand on his cheek and pulling back before things got too heated. I could tell Vlad was holding back too as he carefully stood up and took my hands in his, almost gliding as he led me to the bedroom. I could feel his heartbeat through our interlocked fingers, feel his familiar warmth I've been unable to embrace like I wanted to. But at least for now things were falling back into place so I thought we deserved to share a moment together. Vlad's been working hard too, so if this would help him enjoy himself and feel good too, then that was at least something I could do for the man I loved.

* * *

As soon as we made it to the master bedroom and Vlad locked the door behind us out of habit, we stripped and stepped into a hot shower together in the adjoining bathroom attached to it. With hot steam rolling off our skin, I swear Vlad was being almost painfully reverent as he touched me while we were washing off and took his sweet time tracing every curve of my body with the soft shower sponge. Once he finished with that Vlad turned me around to face him, leaning his body against mine and kissing me deeply after I helped him wash his body too and grazed my fingers lovingly down his strong broad chest. I absolutely loved watching his muscles ripple under my touch and moaned when he slid his hands down to pull me closer by the small of my back.

Before I knew it, we were clean and all dried off but I knew we were hardly finished.

Not too long after that, Vlad pinned me to the bed and slid his hands across my stomach to cup my breasts. I gasped and leaned up into his touch, my hips trembling with desire. I didn't want Vlad doing all the work though so when he finally finished that and began tracing the curves of my legs, ready to slip his shaft inside of me, I braced my hands against his shoulder's, breathlessly asking him to wait.

Slightly exasperated, Vlad did so and with a grin, I grabbed his shoulders and flipped him so that I was on top with surprising strength. He looked stunned by my boldness but slightly impressed as I smiled down at him, gloating a little, then I reached down to grab his hands, sliding them over my thighs and encouraging him to grab my ass. With a sly grin, Vlad quickly realized what I wanted him to do and helpfully guided me into place as I lined myself up with his hard shaft which was already throbbing in anticipation. I'm surprised he hadn't already cum, but I suppose Vlad wanted to wait until he was inside of me, which was thankfully safe to do now without a condom because of the implant. He made sure we checked it every chance we got to make sure it was still functioning properly...

Once we were settled into position Vlad smiled at me, stroking my ass cheeks as I slowly began pumping his shaft with my hands. His hips jerked up with my movements and he grimaced, painfully hard and leaking but Vlad was trying to hold back so we could release together. He moaned and we slipped into a rhythm until finally I couldn't stand it anymore either and impaled myself on him, riding Vlad until we both slipped into a passionate and feverish stupor.

Breathing heavily Vlad eagerly thrust up inside of me as I pushed down and he stirred a few fingers inside my ass, hitting my g-spot there and making me feel so good as I threw my head back and groaned. "Vlad...oh...does that feel good? Mmm..."

"Danielle..." Vlad moaned in return, "Yes, that's it. Call my name again...I need to hear your voice..."

Soon after Vlad made a duplicate of himself who reached around behind me to grope my breasts before sliding inside of my other entrance and making me scream in delight while he began penetrating me from below and behind, telling me how beautiful I was and how good it felt to be inside of me. It was like I was being enveloped on all sides by his body heat and I shuttered. Personally, I felt like this was hardly fair since I haven't figured out duplication yet and wanted to give him the same erotic treatment but oh...Vlad certainly knew exactly how to hit my sweet spots just right so we rode out our first orgasm together, then the second, and both Vlad's ravaged my body and my lips to the point where it was like I was about to drown in ecstasy and couldn't tell anymore if the real one was beneath me or behind me.

I wanted to let him know how amazing he felt and how I was happy by kissing and touching whichever Vlad I could reach between trusts as we called each others names between moans. I rolled my hips on the shaft inside of me and pushed back into the one behind me and rode them both as hard as I could to make them feel just as much pleasure as I was.

Before long, Vlad finally decided to take pity on me when I couldn't keep up and recalled his duplicate. I whined at the loss but Vlad more than made up for it by grinding into me even harder after flipping me back over so I was underneath him. Wave after wave of pleasure coursed through my body and I dug my nails into his back, rocking my hips into his and moaning his name. Likewise, Vlad tangled his fingers in my short hair and twirled his tongue in my mouth, kissing me heatedly, whispering my name and sweet nothings in my ear and telling me how sexy I looked and how good it felt to be inside of me.

This was all I needed, all I wanted, just a moment of pure happiness where no one else mattered but the two of us and our love for each other. I could lose myself in the sheer bliss of his touch, his voice, his warmth. Sam and Vallen would never be able to understand how madly and deeply in love I was with Vlad and how painful it was to be apart sometimes when I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in his eyes and let his voice wash away my fears and doubts. They had no idea that I already belonged to Vlad, heart, mind, body, and soul, and that he belonged to me. Nothing would change that...

But for now, none of them mattered. All that mattered was enjoying this mindless pleasure with the only person who seemed to care about my feelings and what I wanted. And right now, all I wanted was to bask in Vlad's sweltering heat and forget the cold dread creeping into my heart that we were currently on the verge of some unknown disaster creeping around the corner. With him by my side though, even if everyone else drifted apart from me in the coming years, I would always have this. This was a small sample of what our future together could be and I've gotta say...maybe it didn't look so bad after all.


	31. Irrefutable

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Just fyi, after this, we'll be doing a bit of a time skip to speed things along so we can focus on the newer drama since this has gone on long enough. Things are falling into place though and I'm excited to add some more au elements to this story. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 31: Irrefutable

Vlad's POV

__After I fell asleep with Danielle nestled safely in my arms, I had the strangest dream. I was dreaming about her although this wasn't Danielle herself I was seeing. I could tell the difference since we've shared a dream once before when I overshadowed her to communicate and that brought my spirit closer to hers, connecting us more deeply than ever. This was different though. It was as if I was seeing the memory of a dream that wasn't my own, not at first at any rate...__

__We were surrounded by nothing but unbroken blackness except for the glow of our bodies and a cascade of shooting stars creating a natural waterfall. Or perhaps they looked more like sparks illuminating the darkness. The falling stars made a very distinct sound as they collided with the surface, almost like a glass harp, but eventually, a different sound stood out from the others as something metal clattered to the ground and rolled towards me.__

__Soon after, both Danielle and the stars slowly faded from sight as I peered down at the small object as it rolled in a few more circles before settling at my feet. It was a ring, a simple one at that when I picked it up to examine it more closely. Glinting between my fingers was a delicate silver band with a moonstone in the center that seemed to shimmer with its own light just like I was in this dream. There was a name engraved in it as well, but I had to pull it closer to take a look, it was...Danielle's name! __

__But what was something like this doing in my dream...? What could it mean?__

__Seconds later the ring burst into toxic green flames and I dropped it with a pained hiss as it seared my fingertips. This time though, it didn't land on the ground. It was snatched right out of the air by an armored fist that reached forward out of the shadows and the green flame trailed up his arm to form a crown on their head. It was unmistakably the Crown of Fire I planned to take from Pariah Dark himself. And that was precisely who was standing before me.__

__His heavy boots left molten red footprints in their wake with every step closer he took, then the Ghost King stepped fully out of the shadows and put the ring ____on ____which made his aura flare brightly and I was blasted backwards. But this couldn't be the real Ghost King either because I knew he was trapped in a dreamless sleep so he could not send messages to his servants in the same way I shared my dream with Danielle, though it was much easier for ghosts to influence ecto-energy since they no longer had living bodies. Assuming of course they ever were human or whether they were born of the Ghost Zone itself.__

__A cruel sneer formed on his lips as he closed the distance between us and pinned me down with his boot, but what was even more shocking was what he said, __"How pathetic. Surely you must realize that you cannot covet power AND keep the one you love from getting involved. Love is a weakness! Only power will ensure that no one can take what is yours! Why would you willingly surrender it to a mere child whose only real worth is that she is your other half? More importantly, why don't you just steal her away and spare yourself the trouble of hiding behind your lies?"

__Kneeling down closer, he laughed in my face and continued, __"You say you would do anything to make sure that her heart and her life won't be taken away from you. You say you would destroy any foe, or commit any sin, but how much are you truly willing to sacrifice? If you do not stop this foolishness now, like me the flames of ambition will consume you and you will become yet another enemy when she abandons you for putting the innocent at risk. There is only one crown, so there can be only one Ghost King or Queen. There will be no shared glory because that is not the nature of this powerful relic. And those who wear it are required to make the ultimate sacrifice. But are you willing to pay that price? Are you willing to make her pay it when it goes against everything she stands for?"

"F-for her I would pay any price! Now begone! I won't fall for these pointless mind tricks!"__ I shouted, struggling to get free. __"You can't stop me, no one can!"

"You're right, I cannot stop you," __he chuckled, clasping his free hand around my throat and to my shock, he transformed into my own ghost half and tightened his grip until it became painful and said cruelly, __"Only you can stop yourself from making another terrible mistake. But what do you fear more I wonder? Losing her? Or losing much more than that should our plans fail...? Or perhaps...what you're really afraid of is losing the one you hold dear to someone else again? Just like you lost Maddie..."

* * *

My eyes snapped open and I sat up with a sharp jolt as the dream abruptly ended. Pinching the bridge of my nose once my heart settled down I glanced at the clock and saw that it was still fairly early in the evening so there was still time before I needed to take Danielle back home. Since she wasn't staying over at her friend's house anymore this weekend I offered to let Danielle stay with me instead but she was worried about keeping her story straight and thought it would be easier to stay home instead and tell her parents that they had to reschedule their sleepover for a later date.

Speaking of Danielle, I was relieved to see that she was still fast asleep beside me even after I woke up with a start. My gaze softened when I noticed how at ease her expression was, how content which was becoming rare to see even when we were able to steal away a moment together. I considered waking Danielle up so she could get dressed and go home to sleep in her own bed but then argued that it would be easier to just let her continue to rest here instead for at least a little while longer. I didn't want to trouble her with my bad dreams either so I kissed her forehead, slipped on a robe, and excused myself to go get some fresh air out on the balcony.

Part of me did genuinely wonder what that dream was about or if it meant anything at all, but it was pointless to let it concern me at this point. There was no going back now and I had much more important things to focus my attention on such as make sure Danielle didn't discover my ties to young Vallen's new ghost hunting gear. I felt a twinge of guilt lying to her like that but knowing Danielle she would insist that I take everything back to stop the boy from putting himself in danger fighting ghosts. One could argue though, that she was the one who needed to stop doing this for her own safety.

It was too much to ask of one 16-year-old girl, especially one who has already been through so much within just the year she obtained these ghost powers. She has come so far in such a short time which I knew was partly due to her own diligence but as for the rest...it was basic survival. Every night Danielle's been fighting ghosts to survive and to make sure her loved ones and this town did as well, and yet on top of the burdens she placed on her own shoulders, there were also the expectations of her parents, friends, and peers. They dared accuse Danielle of not working hard enough when honestly she's been working harder than any of them to the point of nearly getting herself killed on more than one occasion for these damned ingrates.

I refused to let this continue.

That's why if there ever did come a time when I needed to lock her up in a gilded cage, I would do so even if she began to despise me. I could not deny the truth in that part of my dream at least. I couldn't lose her, couldn't bare it, because I have already given myself more to her than I have for anyone else. Even while plotting my revenge against Jack and putting together a plan to win Maddie's heart I can see now that all those wasted years I was waiting for something I couldn't quite pinpoint, not until I met Danielle. Yes, all along fate must have been waiting to bring us together in such a way that I would not have to live another lie. I would not have to hide who I am or my inner demons, she accepted me as I am...

No matter how foolish.

But are not all men fools who are this deeply in love? Are not all the best love stories written in blood and not ink on tear-stained pages? So perhaps there was a grain of truth to be gleaned from that dream. If only one of us could wear the Crown of Fire and our link as soulmates would not be enough to give her an equal share of it then perhaps I could do something else to make Danielle more powerful because I would much rather have her surpass me one day then risk her falling to a foe greater than any she has ever faced before. As such, if Vallen was to become her shield...then I would be her sword who would cut down her foes before they could even reach her without mercy.

"Hmm, Vlad...? What are you doing out here? Isn't it cold?" Danielle asked, sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes sleepily.

Smiling since she looked so adorable like that I stepped back inside and closed the glass door and the curtains behind me before dipping down to steal a kiss, cradling the back of her neck. Danielle was still a bit dazed from just waking up so she didn't try to deepen the kiss but I completely understood. We may have gone a little overboard since it has been too long since we made love properly without some dark cloud looming overhead. With that in mind, I asked how Danielle was feeling and asked if she wanted to take a short shower before I brought her home.

Nodding Danielle yawned again and climbed out of bed, wincing a little since she was so sore. I felt bad for putting her through this pain after things got so heated but she smiled at me while strolling past to the bathroom after kissing my cheek briefly. _I should probably wash up as well but I don't want to be tempted by sharing a shower together again. Hmm, I suppose the bathroom in one of the guest rooms will have to suffice._

"Danielle, is there anything else you need? I think I would like to wash up as well but I don't want to risk either of us being tempted to continue where we left off so I'll use the shower in one of the guest rooms," I began but then she gave me a quizzical look and I stopped and waited to hear what she had to say.

"This is your house Vlad, you shouldn't have to use a different room. Besides, I don't need the shower since I wanted to take a bath instead to relax my muscles before heading back to Fenton Works. That way I won't be tempted to start getting frisky again. I mean my back hurts too much to go at it again anyway," Danielle explained, grabbing a couple of clean towels from the cupboard and tossing one to me, smiling. "I enjoyed it though. I hope you did too because I promised you didn't I? Promised I would make it up to you after all that banshee business?"

Wrapping my arms around her shoulders with the towel folded over one of them I cooed, "So you did, and it was worth the wait my dear. I love you, Danielle."

"I love you too Vlad," Danielle replied softly, leaning into my warm embrace and sighing, "Anyways, let's get cleaned up for the second time tonight then we can talk for a bit about this training stuff. Think we can start tomorrow?"

I was surprised Danielle was being so earnest about training but then again she was rather excited about it before and then disappointed when we had to cancel. "I suppose there's no harm as long as you're not too sore. I'd like to start off simple and measure your energy levels so we can see what the difference is when you don't wear the ring and when you do."

"Oh yeah...I nearly forgot about that," Danielle blushed, smiling sheepishly at me, "Too bad it isn't a real promise ring. I've always wanted one if I ever got serious with someone. And I don't think you can get more serious than finding your literal soulmate-"

My mind flashed back suddenly to that dream I had earlier so after adopting a casual tone while I closed the door behind us and disrobed before stepping into the shower while Danielle filled the tub I asked, "That's true, and someday I would very much like to have one made for you that you can wear without anyone asking foolish questions. Tell me, if I did get you a ring, what sort of design would you prefer?"

Sitting on the edge of the tub with her hand testing the water Danielle replied, "I know most girls prefer something super sparkly or a ring with their birthstone but I've always liked the way moonstone looks. Maybe it's because of how much I enjoy looking at the moon and stars and the night sky in general and imagine what could be out there. Compared to the Ghost Zone I'm hoping the rest of our universe is less creepy."

_I knew it, so that part of the dream was a premonition after all. Then that dream I saw with the waterfall of stars was an echo of her dream and something she was thinking about subconsciously,_ I nodded to myself while running my fingers through my hair to untangle it while the hot water rolled down my back. "I see, I will be sure to keep that in mind Danielle. Thank you for answering me."

"Mmmhmm," Danielle answered dismissively before climbing into the bath and sighing in contentment. After that, we fell silent and focused on washing ourselves and cleansing our minds at the same time. At least, that's what I would liked to have done but I felt like I was missing a piece of the puzzle. There was still so much about our bond that even I didn't understand and this wasn't the first time Danielle has had a sort of premonition about what was to come or what to avoid. Did she have a latent power I wasn't aware of that made this possible or was I overthinking this? Either way, at least this proved to me that the dream I saw...may have been more than a dream after all.


	32. Evasive

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

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Chapter 32: Evasive

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Danielle's POV

It's been a few weeks since Vlad and I started our training sessions, they gave me something to look forward to during the week rather than dread. It also made it easier to balance out spending time with my friends and avoiding certain issues. I remember what happened the first bit of ghost power training with Vlad and I was happy to see he was actually pretty impressed by my progress. There were still some problem areas, such as my weak shields, but we were working on it.

As for the following day when I planned to talk to Sam and Vallen about this whole romance rivalry thing going on I was surprised when Vallen just straight up told me not to worry about and almost made it too easy. That worried me a bit since he looked pretty worn out so I figured Vallen just didn't want to deal with it right now because of whatever was going on with him. Still, I made sure to let him know I was doing better after he told me how much of that argument he heard between me and Sam which was partially true. Not knowing if he knew my secret did have me on edge but it turns out he didn't hear enough to figure anything out.

I told him to try and take it easy and he did the same with me so I didn't dwell on it much after that. I'm glad Sam and Trish had gotten over the weirdness about helping me hunt ghosts since there was an end in sight. Vlad was working on forming a team of ghost hunters to take over the bulk of my ghost hunting duties and for whatever reason there was this new bonus hunter in red too...

We still didn't know who he was which was annoying but really I guess it wasn't something we had to uncover right away. I'd keep an eye on him when I spotted him nearby but as long as we didn't become enemies I was fine giving the red hunter a wide berth. So for now I was busy getting caught up on school work and training with Vlad several times a week unless things got super busy with ghosts which thankfully hasn't been that often.

I was honestly almost afraid to let my guard down completely since that's usually when shit hits the fan but for now I was on top of things for once and felt great. We had another training session today and I was really excited because now that I've mastered most of the basics I wanted to see if we could increase my endurance so I could use my Final Dirge power without almost passing out every time I used it. Basically right now it was my most powerful ability and I've only used it as a last resort during a really tough fight.

Anyway, I'm not sure why but I decided to walk to Vlad's place instead of fly since I wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet for once since I kicked a lot of ghost ass last night without breaking a sweat which was rare for me. Our training was already paying off and I felt lighter than air as it is. I didn't even realize I was humming to myself until someone rolled down their window beside me and sneered, "Hey Fenturd, what are you so happy about?"

Glancing over at Diana who was driving slowly next to me I shrugged and replied, "Do I need a reason?"

"Ugh whatever, it's not like I care. Anyways, now that you're here I've got a question. What's with Vallen lately? He's been acting weird since you started getting all friendly with him, I bet your weirdness is rubbing off on him," then Diana crinkled her nose like she was smelling something gross.

Finally stopping I sighed and said, "Last time I check you're the one who kicked him to the curb when things got tough for Vallen for a little while because of some ghost dog so why do you care? Vallen can be friends with whoever he wants and even if he used to be a bully like you everyone deserves a helping hand when things look hopeless. I'd even do the same for you. But I'll admit he has been pretty out of it lately, I wonder if something's going on at home?"

"Beats me. Anyways just do him a favor and keep your own shit away from him. We may not be friends anymore but Vallen's still cooler than you losers and I don't want you dragging him down got it? Unlike you, he actually has a future-?!" Diana was cut off when she realized she wasn't paying attention and bumped into a parked car, setting off the alarm.

I took that as my chance to get out of there before anyone came running out but smiled when I glanced back and saw the panicked look on her face as Diana frantically checked for any damage to her precious car. I knew that her dad would buy her a new one even if the damage was easy to fix though so worrying over it was kinda pointless. She didn't have to worry about getting punished and out of fear of that happening she got in and drove off as fast as she could.

"And she calls me a loser, running with her tail between her legs like that at the thought of getting caught red-handed with careless driving," I shrugged and went on my merry way, trying not to think about what Diana said about Vallen.

She was right though, whatever was going on seemed to be keeping him up at night and I saw dark circles under his eyes. And yet, Vallen's smile was always so warm and genuine when I asked if he was ok. Once he pointed out that I've looked much worse which I had to agree with. Still, maybe I should invite him to the arcade with us sometime. That would help Sam and Vallen get that rivalry crap out of their system in a civil way by trying to outmatch each other with a few rounds of Zombie Island or something.

Before I knew it, I was finally at Vlad's mansion when I noticed a car outside and raised an eyebrow. Was he expecting someone? Thankfully I didn't have to wonder for very long when Mr. Grey stepped outside with Vlad and none other than Vallen and our eyes met instantly.

"Ah, Danielle, you're early," Vlad smiled cordially like there was nothing strange about this. And there wasn't really, I mean Vallen's dad DOES work for him. It was just unexpected.

Pulling my backpack up higher on my shoulder I replied, "Is this a bad time?"

"Not at all, we were just finalizing something for work," Mr. Grey smiled, but there was this odd sympathetic look in his eyes as he glanced at Vlad and excused himself for a minute to walk over to me, resting a hand on my shoulder, "Actually, since you're here do you got a minute?"

"Um, sure Mr. Grey," I smiled a bit nervously before stepping away from Vlad and Vallen to talk to him. "What's up?"

"Well, it's about my son," Mr. Grey began, glancing over at Vallen who was occupying himself by talking to Vlad while waiting for me to finish talking to his dad. "He's been distant with me lately so I was wondering if you knew anything about it since you see him the most while I'm busy at work. Then again, Vallen's been asking me almost every day if I've made any progress with this project I'm working on for Mr. Masters so maybe that's it? At any rate, listen, I know my son cares a lot about you, but I'm seriously starting to worry about him. Whatever he's been up to it's taking up all of his time and wearing him out so if it is what I think it is, since you two are friends I'd appreciate it if you'd try to keep the ghost stuff your parents work with to a minimum alright?"

"Trust me, I get bullied enough about it already so I don't talk about what my parents do whenever possible," I shrugged, "I wouldn't recommend it as a career after highschool either."

Sighing in relief he explained, "That's good to hear. Well, not that you were bullied but that you don't like talking about that sort of thing in front of people. I just don't want him getting funny ideas about hunting ghosts at his age in some misguided attempt to impress you. We're already working on dealing with the problem so we won't have to rely on this Dani Phantom girl anymore. I know a lot of you kids look up to her but one ghost can't possibly protect everyone and we need to stop relying on her. Ghosts are nothing but trouble and you probably know that better than anyone..."

Giving me another sad look Mr. Grey added, "I can only imagine how hard it was on you dealing with ghosts your whole life when we only had to deal with one that cost me my job. But now that we know the truth I want to help people like you feel safe at home and at school. I also want my son to be safe which is why I don't want him risking his life trying to hunt ghosts because they keep coming after you. I'm not blaming you though since it comes with the territory and I will do what I can to help as a way to thank you for everything you've done for us by getting us in touch with Mr. Masters. I'd just appreciate it if you explained to him from personal experience with ghosts that ghost hunting isn't a game. Can you do that for me?"

"I can try," I replied quietly, trying to process what he was asking me to do which for some reason made me feel uneasy. Well so much for my good mood today, it seems like everyone was telling me what to do when it came to my friendship with Vallen.

"Thanks, Dani," Mr. Grey smiled, patting my shoulder then giving his regards to Vlad one more time before climbing into the car. I tried to make it over to them before Vallen left but he smiled and waved at me before climbing in too, leaving me alone with Vlad again.

Clearly, something was up but everyone was being so evasive it was hard to keep up. And when I tried asking Vlad about what he was talking about with Vallen, he barely answered my question before escorting me inside. Either way, I couldn't shake the feeling that something fishy was going on. It was just weird seeing Vallen's dad here since Vlad rarely invited his employees to his home or even business associates, so whatever was going on it was almost like he was trying to make me aware of it without saying anything specific.

That didn't make this any less weird though...

* * *

"What was that all about Vlad? Why was Vallen here with his dad?" I asked after putting my backpack on the floor as usual once we stepped inside the mansion. I know Vlad said I was early in front of them to keep them from suspecting anything, but I knew for a fact I was actually a few minutes late after my run-in with Diana.

"It's simple really, " Vlad explained casually, "Damon called me a short while ago and asked if it was alright if he stopped by to finalize the list of candidates for potential ghost hunters in our special unit since he was already in town to pick up his son since the young man's car was damaged during a ghost attack and at the workshop. I didn't see the harm in allowing a quick visit since they already know I'm friends with your family and I have been tutoring you. And since he's a friend of yours it seemed only right to make sure the young man was alright."

My eyes widened in shock and I demanded, "Oh my god, a ghost attacked him?! When did this happen?!"

"Now now calm down, there's nothing you could have done. He was on his way to school much like you were when this happened and it's impossible for you to keep an eye on everyone. Besides which you were already preoccupied with another ghost at the time," pulling me into a hug Vlad assured me, "Don't blame yourself, Danielle, I'm getting closer to reaching my goal so soon you will be able to rest easier knowing you and your friends are safer. So please, promise me you won't let this bother you too much, alright?"

Vlad was right of course but I couldn't help but worry anyway.

No wonder Vallen's been avoiding me and looked so tired lately. It looks like there was another ghost messing with him just like Cujo was. Well, Cujo was only looking for something but regardless of the reason why this happened and who could have attacked him I still felt bad about it. Was Vallen avoiding me because he thought the ghost went after him to get to me? Was he trying to protect me somehow? Is that why his dad said all those things to me...? Am I to blame for that ghost attacking him or was it random?

Shaking my head I decided not to worry about the what-ifs and do something about it by becoming stronger. If I could just master duplication then I could keep a better eye on my friends. And that's exactly what I planned to do! So I pulled away from Vlad and asked, "Alright, I'll take your word for it and call him later to make sure Vallen is doing ok for myself. It's the least I can do as his friend since we've both been dealing with a lot recently. Anyways, what are we working on today Vlad? Please tell me we're done working on my ghost shield."

Finally letting go of me Vlad grinned and said, "I was thinking we should work on something more interesting today. You've made great progress so far so I believe it's time to put those powers to the test..."


	33. Impervious

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Sorry for the long delay, things have been hectic lately. Anyways, I know it's probably a bad idea for Vlad to reveal his hand so soon, but again I want to speed things along so hopefully, this chapter is ok because I went through like 3 versions of it before this one. Besides, Vallen knows how smart Vlad is so of course he'd figure out who the new ghost hunter in town is even if making him one wasn't already part of his plans. I'm just setting the stage for Vlad before he makes his next big move where all hell begins to break loose. Way to go you lovable dork! lolz

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Chapter 33: Impervious

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Vlad's POV

_A little earlier..._

I was walking a dangerous line by interacting too closely with Vallen and his father in front of Danielle, but in the unlikely event that the truth came to light about this young man being the ghost hunter in red she was so concerned about I wanted her to see he already had the idea in his head because of what his father is working on for me. As long as she didn't find out that I was his patron that's all that mattered. It was alright if she found out later since this was all for her sake either way.

And if Vallen was serious about becoming one even before I helped him along it meant that he was going against his father's wishes, and mine too supposedly, regardless. My vultures told me that Vallen was secretly attempting to find a way to fight ghosts to protect Danielle despite my warning after that meeting which was all the motivation I needed to lend him a helping hand by supplying him with ghost fighting equipment. The rest was up to him as far as training and locating his targets.

The important thing to remember here though is that while Danielle and Vallen are friends, I knew that he still had strong feelings for her. If not for the fact that she was already mine I might have felt challenged since he was a rather earnest young man who knew how to respect her properly. I wasn't worried about Samson because frankly behavior was a prime example of what not to do concerning Danielle and I was confident that at least Vallen was smarter than that and wouldn't let his personal feelings get in the way of his mission of keeping her safe.

As far as Vallen was concerned, he was doing this because of those feelings and because he understood what being haunted by ghosts felt like now. Whats more, their family was indebted to me for giving them another chance to turn things around after a ghost ruined their lives with Vallen's father reinstated as the head of security at Axion Labs before I took over the company. And since Damon was in fact a very valuable asset to this company in his own right I wanted to stay in their good graces. His son Vallen on the other hand was rather promising himself for an entirely different reason...

For what I have planned, I am hoping he'll be the most useful as well.

That's why when the opportunity presented itself, I took a moment to speak to Vallen while his father was preoccupied with Danielle. I was confident that Vallen would keep what we discussed discrete whether I hinted at knowing what he's been up to these past few weeks or not. The ghost hunting equipment I gave him has been keeping a complete record of his vital signs to see how well he's been adapting to his new role as a hunter.

But while Vallen hasn't suffered any major injuries thanks me giving him proper equipment to protect himself with and already having at least some combat training in a casual setting, it was fairly obvious that he was overdoing it a little and pushing himself too hard. According to my spies and hidden cameras I knew he's been training at home and honing his skills out in the field against any ghosts he came across. Vallen didn't really need to know I was secretly supporting him by giving him that gear in the first place, not yet. All he needed to know...was that I was aware of it which would put just enough pressure on him to heed my advice.

"So Vallen, now that we have a moment alone, how have you been doing my boy? You look exhausted," I asked innocently and he simply shrugged.

"I'm getting by like everyone else I guess. Don't worry about me," Vallen smiled but it was somewhat strained because he was likely still upset about how I turned down his offer to help by becoming part of my special ghost hunting task force.

Placing a hand on his shoulder I shook my head and insisted, "Nonsense, you're an exceptional young man with a lot of potential so I would hate for anything to happen to you. That's why, just between us, you haven't been doing anything reckless have you?"

Leaning closer I added in a low whisper, "I am fully aware that ghost attacks tend to take place indiscriminately around your school, but I've started noticing a pattern in my reports in the area and signs of a new player on the field. You wouldn't know anything about that would you...?"

I felt him stiffen under my touch, unable to hide his fear as he glanced over at his father and Danielle nervously and replied defensively, "What are you suggesting? Do you seriously think that I'm the new ghost hunter in town? That's ridiculous..."

I smiled knowingly and pointed out, "I never said the new player was a ghost hunter..."

Realizing it was pointless to try to talk his way out of it now that I'd caught onto his ruse, Vallen asked coolly, "Alright, fine, you caught me so are you going to tell me to stop and tell my dad?"

Leaning back again I shook my head, glancing over at Danielle to make sure she was still occupied and explained calmly, "No, it is not my place to interfere with your affairs any more than I already have. I only trust that you know what you've gotten yourself into and are taking the proper cautionary measures. True, I could stop you, and as a responsible adult I really should but I won't because truth be told you and I want the same thing. The Fenton family means a great deal to me too so I want to do my part to keep them safe, especially Danielle who has been through enough trauma thanks to all of these ghost attacks at your school and in this town..."

"A word of advice though my boy," I added with a mischievous wink, "If you don't want to arouse suspicious about your...extracurricular activities I would suggest that you start taking better care of yourself. You can't protect anyone if you can't protect yourself so I hope whatever happened to your car served as a lesson. This is still a dangerous path you've chosen but if you're willing to take that risk, I'll support you. Perhaps not openly, but I can keep it a secret as long as you promise me one thing-"

"What?" Vallen asked, sounding curious and suspicious all at once.

"Don't make me regret it. And whatever you do, don't get yourself killed. Danielle would never forgive herself is she learned the truth about this. You're her friend, so don't forget what that means by avoiding her to do all of this," I just barely managed to finish that thought before Damon and Danielle began walking back over to us.

Still, Vallen seemed to understand what I was saying and nodded, "Alright, I won't let you down Mr. Masters. And thanks for understanding..."

"Of course, just remember what I said and I'm sure everything will be fine," I smiled, giving his shoulder one last pat before letting go, smiling even wider on the inside knowing that I've begun to sow the seeds required to get this young man to trust me even more.

And in time, perhaps I would reveal that I was the one who gave him this opportunity to hunt ghosts because I believed in him, or rather, believed that he was devoted to the cause and wouldn't betray my expectations for him. Of course, we still couldn't let Danielle or Vallen's father catch onto that since it would complicate matters. Either way, with that out of the way I could focus my attention on keeping Danielle oblivious to all of this and bid my time until everything was in place to begin the next phase of my plan. Because regardless of that strange dream I had with the Ghost King's shadow, it was too late to give up on my plans.

If both Vallen and Danielle were still so busy tracking down and capturing wayward ghosts during their respective patrols, then perhaps the denizens of the Ghost Zone were already sensing the changes about to unfold and were fleeing into this realm to escape it like wild animals would from an oncoming storm. I had to stay resolute if my ends were to be achieved. Before the end, these two would thank me for removing the cause of their worries by banishing most ghosts from this town for good out of fear of the one who would soon claim the throne of the Ghost King for themselves...

Because if that dream was to be believed and there could only be one ruler, well, then I suppose it would have to be me since I would never ask Danielle pay the price and lose any more than she already has. And besides, that still meant I could make her my queen even if we could not share this power in the way I had hoped. She and I were soulmates and still possessed a rare power we have yet to discover the full potential of, but more importantly, once I declared that Danielle belonged to me...no ghost would dare attempt to lay their filthy hands on her again which was enough for me.

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Danielle's POV

"You can't be serious..." I blinked, positive that I must misheard what he said after Vlad teleported the two of us down to his training room below the lab. "Vlad I can't just attack you for no reason! I want to get stronger so that I can protect you!"

"Sure you can Danielle, this is purely for training purposes and I am perfectly capable of defending myself. Besides, this will be a good way for me to measure your progress a bit more closely. My readings can only tell me so much and I want to feel the force behind your attacks. This is all only for training purposes my dear, not a mock battle. We'll work our way up to those so all I want you to do is attack my shield and see if you can break it unlike before when we first crossed paths," lifting my chin to force me to meet his gaze, Vlad's expression hardened but I could tell he didn't want me to doubt myself as he continued, "You've already come so far my dear so don't sell yourself short. You're ready for this."

"But what if I hurt you?" I asked, feeling my heart racing painfully in my chest.

"You won't hurt me, I'm still more powerful than you because I've been mastering my powers far longer than you. That is a simple fact. I've had my powers longer than you've been alive and yet in less than a year you've come further than I did during the first few years I as adjusting to having my powers. My dear you really must give yourself more credit than that," brushing my lips with a soft kiss before pulling away, he smiled and added, "Or let me put it this way, this can also be considered an exercise with control. If you feel that you're using too much power then you do what we practiced before and reign it in to stop your attack without completely expanding your energy. We'll start off simple today with a few ecto-energy blasts but I want to see if your Final Dirge as you call it has the power to shatter my shield much like an opera singer would a wine glass, it will be all about controlling the pitch."

Well, I liked the sound of controlling my powers as opposed to outright attacking him so finally, I nodded and took up a position on the far end of the room while Vlad floated over to the middle. We transformed into our ghost halves before coming here once we were sure Vallen and his dad were gone so with any luck we'd get through our training session before dinner. I was still nervous about doing this but Vlad explained that he'd start with a full body dome shield first and then we'd work our way down to smaller ones to measure my accuracy and the power behind my attacks. I just had to reminds myself of how much stronger they were compared to mine and resist the urge to hold back.

I had to trust that Vlad would be fine so once I finished a few breathing exercises to calm my nerves I began charging energy in my hands and shooting them wildly at the dome. I focused entirely on the shield itself and not who was inside it as I increased the energy I put into each attack. At first, they barely seemed to affect it at all and bounced harmlessly off like throwing pillows at someone so gradually I became more confident and aggressive with my attacks. I was able to do this by thinking about all the things bothering me right now like Sam's attitude, Vallen avoiding me, my parents getting pushier again since Jason was going to be moving out soon to start college, the increase of ghost attacks again, and most of all my frustration about not being nearly as strong as I wanted to be to make these ghosts run for the hills more often.

Most still underestimated me because I was a sixteen-year-old half-human girl so I made sure they ate their words by kicking their sorry asses. I WAS getting the hang of this though, like it was becoming more routine now, and it was nice that Sam and Trish were helping out again with the capturing part at least. It was just like old times but without me going home as tired or beaten up anymore so my stamina was a hell of a lot better too. I still think part of this was all thanks to that new ghost hunter taking on some of my workload honestly.

We still weren't sure how extreme he was about fighting ghosts to the point of being unwilling to listen to reason like my parents so I made an unspoken agreement with my friends to avoid the areas we've seen him hunting ghosts since I didn't want to become enemies with him. Personally, I wish we could work together for the good of this town because it'd be nice to have someone watch my back in actual combat since Vlad wasn't interested in the superhero thing...

That still kinda frustrated me, how Vlad was doing all this other ghost hunter stuff for my sake but if I'm being completely honest here, I would much rather have him fighting alongside me instead of letting some random ghost hunter take over my job for me. Don't get me wrong I still wanted to get away from all this to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, but as far as the present is concerned, something I've been wanting to tell Vlad for a while now was to just give up on this project and fight alongside me like we did against the banshee. Realistically though I knew I couldn't ask him to do that. Vlad only cared about me, he didn't care about this town or the people in it aside from how worrying about them affected me but that's just who he is.

Vlad can be pretty selfish, and sometimes I know I tend to be a bit too selfless so for the most part we balanced each other out. I let him help me and in turn I gave him something better to do with his time then plot against my dad or try to grab for power he didn't need. It was my turn to do something for him so if I could show Vlad I didn't need him to protect me all the time just because of the few close calls I've had, the least I could do was show him how strong I've become!

* * *

Vlad was beaming with pride when we finished our training session for the day because something happened during it that caught us both by surprise. I mean I was going all out and we knew Vlad's shields were super strong which is why I started to relax and put a bit more energy into each attack knowing he'd be alright, but when we got to the final set where he used his smallest but strongest shield to see if it could withstand my Final Dirge attack, somehow I managed to actually crack it! Of course, I collapsed to my knees right after that but still! Considering how powerful Vlad was and the fact that he wasn't holding back and I managed to do that WITHOUT wearing the Ring of Rage was freaking awesome!

I was exhausted but couldn't help smiling like an idiot while sipping on the lemonade Vlad had the chef make for us along with some snacks too. Vlad was so impressed by how well I did and hearing him praise me made me feel lighter than air. And for a second I forgot all about Vallen and my other concerns and sat with Vlad talking about how things went and what we should focus on from here.

When we started discussing our plans for the next training session though and he listed the different days he was open to me, I had to stop him there and pointed out, "Sorry Vlad, I'm going to have to pass on Wednesday because it's my birthday and we have plans," I shrugged while refilling my glass with some more lemonade. I didn't even think about how bored I sounded about my birthday but like most holidays I only got to experience it for real when I was with my friends, including my birthday.

Cursing Vlad stood up and muttered to himself, "Damn it, how could I forget that your birthday was coming up this week?! I had every intention of doing something special just for you. Alright, it's not too late to fix this! First off I can reschedule the meeting with Mr. Darren to sometime next week and cancel the tour with-"

"Vlad, it's really no big deal," I shrugged, "It's just the usual birthday thing where I get to pick where we go to dinner and then we open presents and that's about it. I'm just hoping mom and dad will go easy on giving me more anti-ghost weapons this year and-?!"

I nearly dropped my drink when Vlad abruptly grabbed my shoulders and exclaimed, "No, that is unacceptable! This is an important birthday since you are turning seventeen! And quite honestly your parents should have gotten you your first car long before now as well but more than that...Danielle how can you care so little about the day you were born?! The day that you became a part of this world so we could meet? Isn't that reason enough to celebrate it?"

"I um...well I stopped caring about my birthdays when they became less about me and more about who my parents wanted me to be," I replied honestly, still taken aback by his reaction. "As for a car, they gave Jason his first car because he was an honor student so I gave up on the idea entirely since my grades are shit anyway. Besides, why would I need one anymore now that I can fly...?"

Shaking his head Vlad sighed and let go of my shoulders and said, "Well that settles it, it looks like I need to have another talk with your parents. This is outrageous! I thought they stopped treating you like this after our last chat but it seems that I was mistaken. Well, I won't have it, one way or another you are going to have the most self-indulgent seventeenth birthday in all of Amity Park or my name isn't Vlad Masters!"

After that Vlad turned on heel and angrily called his driver and I had to rush after him, trying to convince him not to do anything crazy, "Hey hold on, let's not do anything crazy ok? Just...hold on a second would you?! VLAAAD!"


	34. Catharsis

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note:** Blegh sorry for the delay, I kept trying to update this but its been drama central here at home. What else is new though? Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

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Chapter 34: Catharsis

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Danielle's POV

To say that I was mortified by what Vlad did when we got to my house is a huge understatement. He basically called my parents out on being too wrapped up in their work again to realize how much of my life they were missing out on and that they were not giving me the same amount of love and attention as my brother. Especially when I've been doing my best to prove myself to them despite how many scary ordeals I've been through this year...

Between losing my voice and being literally kidnapped by a ghost, well yeah I'll admit that those were some of my lowest moments and they didn't even know about all the ghost hunting I did almost every night on top of that as Dani Phantom. Even without knowing the whole story, those are scary things for a sixteen-year-old girl to go through or anyone for that matter. I'm the only reason that no one else has gone through something just as terrifying because honestly, my parents were all talk and rarely actually did much to help out. If they did it was always during extreme circumstances.

And since Jason really was leaving soon which meant I'd be at school alone from now on Vlad insisted that I really needed my own car, preferably a normal one equipped with ONLY a ghost shield and not a barrage of anti-ghost weaponry like the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle, or rather the RV. Personally I really didn't care about driving much at this point, all I wanted to have a nice quiet birthday which was more than enough for me. And when my mom asked Vlad why this was so important to him I inwardly grimaced when he said that I was like a daughter to him and he simply wanted me to feel like my birthdays still meant something and that I was loved just as much as my brother.

I get why he had to say that, but it reminded me of how...peculiar our relationship was beside the fact that we were both turned half-ghost by one of my parent's inventions. No matter how close we became, there would always be a gap between us that no amount of birthdays would ever close. And I was glad he had my back because honestly, I already felt pretty lonely even though Jason hasn't left yet. It was going to be strange not having him there to notice I existed anymore when my parents were too busy because like clockwork no matter how many times Vlad has warned them about taking their daughter for granted they somehow always slipped back into their old habits.

Sometimes it makes me wonder why they bothered having us in the first place...

"You really do spoil her, you know that V-man?" My dad laughed, totally oblivious to the fact that Vlad had just called him out on being part of the reason I don't feel excited for my birthday and most holidays anymore.

Smiling coyly, Vlad replied casually as if it was the most natural thing to say, "Well someone has to don't they? And as I recall that's usually the father's job to make sure his little princess has everything she could ever want, but clearly someone missed the memo. In any case, if you'll allow me I'd like to take charge of the rest of her birthday preparations from here. You only turn seventeen once after all and it marks the final milestone before becoming an adult and going out to make her mark on the world. Furthermore, she's been studying very hard with me and even with a few setbacks, Danielle has pulled her grades up dramatically compared to a few months ago so I for one feel she has earned this. Surely you've noticed that? Since I came here, haven't you received fewer calls from her school about Danielle's grades slipping and her getting detention for missed classes and such...?"

"Well...I suppose that's true and if you insist so strongly how can we say no?" my mom sighed, resting a hand on my shoulder and adding with a smile, "Dani I know we've been hard on you, but that's because you're a Fenton and while it might not always seem like it we believe in you too sweetheart."

"Thanks, mom," I smiled weakly even though I was biting back a few things I wanted to say since I knew better than to believe that. I stopped believing they saw me as anything but a disappointment ever since the accident when I became even more of a klutz because of misfiring ghost powers...

I never doubted their love for me, but I doubted their capacity to listen since they never have before for more than five seconds. Nothing I said ever got them to listen to me before, about what I wanted, what my dreams were, or who I wanted to be after high school. The only reason they ever paid attention was when someone more accomplished brought it up like Vlad or my brother.

And I'm glad they respected Vlad enough to listen to this crazy birthday request even though he rushed here out of the blue and started scolding them for treating me like a kid again who only cared about cake and presents which made dinner enough of a birthday treat. In truth though, even though Vlad was making a big deal out of this, all I want is to celebrate another year of life with the people I love because who knows what the future will bring.

* * *

As soon as I shut the door behind me, I groaned after flopping onto my bed and muttered, "Ugh, figures Vlad would run off before I could talk to him about all of this. What the hell has gotten into him...?"

I'm really glad that I had the foresight to grab my things before hastily climbing into the limo with him earlier because it looks like I wouldn't be seeing him until my birthday since he had lots of last-minute preparations to make for it. Vlad must have known that too when he excused himself just as abruptly as he came rushing over here to talk to my parents. During the drive over I tried to convince Vlad to not make a big deal out of this but he wouldn't listen and I wasn't sure if I should feel touched or worried that he was taking this so personally.

Speaking of which, now that I had some free time I figured it might be a good idea to call Vallen because despite all of this I DID already have some pre-birthday plans with Sam and Trish as usual and wanted to invite him this year since we're friends now. Sam might not be too keen about the idea, but I really was getting worried about him and this was the perfect excuse to ask him to hang out with us since it's been a while now. I haven't seen much of him since the Talent Show fiasco.

Maybe I could get some answers about what Vlad's been up to at Axion Labs too and could ask about how he really felt about me at this point. I know we haven't been friends very long but Mr. Gray was right about one thing, if Vallen was doing something dangerous without knowing what he was getting into I needed to be the one to tell him that it wasn't a good idea since I KNOW how dangerous ghosts are even without having powers. My parents can handle themselves when they actually have to come into direct contact with a ghost and Sam and Trish are used to helping me with them...but Vallen?

I mean sure he has skills, I've seen how awesome his moves are, but these are otherworldly beings who can possess people, shoot energy rays, and fly through walls! No amount of karate training could prepare him to fight something so unnatural without the right tools. And I doubt his dad was going to let him anywhere near the stuff they're testing for the new security team Vlad's forming...

I was a bit nervous about the call when I sent him a request to video chat but I figured it might be easier to talk about all this under the pretense of inviting him to join us for pre-birthday party fun. It's not like I have enough friends to invite people to a real birthday party, not since I was a kid anyway. When I was growing up most parents wouldn't let their kids anywhere near my house because of my _'eccentric family.'_

That's when I learned the hard way that being a Fenton meant being a loner. At least, that's how I felt until I met Sam and Trish and we became fast friends. And while their parents were still kinda worried about what kind of people my parents are too like the rest of them were, they didn't think it was fair that Jason and I had to suffer because of it and decided not to keep me away from my first and only real friends. It took a year or two to get them to let Sam and Trish come over to my house once it was deemed _'safe enough for children'_ even though Sam's parents were never fully convinced of anything and are skeptical about the sanity of my parents to this very day.

Obviously Sam's parents would never do this, but Trish's parents are probably the only ones in all of Amity Park who were brave enough to come over for dinner at least once, which is one of my few normalish memories from my childhood. By some miracle, that night my mom managed to get my dad to dial it down on the ghost hunting talk which as you can imagine must have taken a lot to pull off. Unfortunately, Trish's parents didn't account for my dad's large appetite so her mom had to help mine make some more food to make sure everyone was fed after my dad scarfed down most of the meatloaf himself.

I felt SO embarrassed and nearly left the table in tears but Trish's mom was so nice and made me feel better by telling me that's how most people react to her meatloaf. Even Trish admitted that they were kinda addicted to it since she made it better than anyone they knew. As you can imagine they never came over to dinner again but I've been over to their place plenty of times and it was always nice to go somewhere you can actually enjoy a second helping and a normal conversation.

I started thinking about Sam's parents who were a bit more reserved about me when Vallen finally answered and I jerked in surprise and waved at him with a nervous smile, "Oh, hey Vallen! Um, I didn't really get the chance to talk to you when I saw you at Vlad's and well...we haven't talked in a while so I decided to give you a call when I had a few minutes to myself. Are you been doing ok? Vlad told me about the ghost attack so I'm glad you're not hurt, I-"

_"Dani, slow down a second will you...?"_ Vallen sighed tiredly, pausing for a moment to make sure he still had my full attention before frowning slightly and sounding disappointed in himself, _"Listen, I can't talk long but I wanted to talk to you about something too. I'm sorry I've been giving you the cold shoulder lately. I'm just...really busy right now trying to figure some personal stuff out. And that reminds me, I know what my dad talked you about-"_

Laughing nervously too he scratched his head and continued, _"I wish he'd stop reading so much into all my late-night ghost research. I mean, wouldn't you like to know more about ghosts so they can't get the jump on you again? It's not like this is the first time either of us has been attacked by ghosts either so I for one want to figure out a way to protect myself. It's not like he can just hand me anti-ghost weapons like your parents do for self-defense. Anyways, speaking of which, my dad didn't get to you, did he? He's worried I'm getting weird ideas about ghost hunting now just because I'm friends with you...but it's not like that."_

Leaning back in my chair I reluctantly admitted with a heavy sigh, "Well...your dad does have a point when it comes to my family's weirdness. I can see how he'd get that impression after everything that's happened to you and what happens almost daily around our school. Honestly, it's a miracle that I've been able to stay friends with Trish and Sam for this long when their parents have known about all the ghost hunting stuff that goes on here for years. And I can see why you'd want to learn how to protect yourself, especially since your dad had to beef up security at work against ghosts too. But trust me, you do not what to make yourself a target by doing what my parents do, ghosts have a bad habit of holding long grudges and they have even longer memories."

Trailing off I glanced back down at him and continued, "To be honest...I started to think that the reason you've been avoiding me is because you think ghosts are becoming attracted to you too and marking you as a target like they've been doing with me. But I don't want to lose you as a friend too because of ghosts. I've lost way too many as it is over the years. More importantly, I don't want you to get hurt..."

_"Dani, you're not going to lose me. I told you that I can take care of myself. I'll be ok. But I'm sorry I made it seem like I've been avoiding you on purpose. I've really just been busy trying to find a way to help out and protect myself better,"_ giving me a pointed look, Vallen continued with a small smile, _"I'm not an idiot, I know this sort of thing should be left to professionals like my dad and Mr. Masters so I'm not about to go picking any fights with some random ghost if I can help it until they get this town the help it needs against all these damn spooks. At least now I know how you felt all those times you were attacked by ghosts and no one believed you. I'll never doubt you again Dani. And I'll never be such a jerk about it either because living with people who actively catch and study those things has got to be pretty nerve-wracking. No wonder you always looked like the walking dead yourself during first period on most school days."_

Feeling relieved by that I sighed, "That's a relief I was kinda worried that maybe Diana got to you too or your dad was telling you I was a bad influence and staying friends with me is dangerous because of all the ghost stuff. He asked me to keep all that junk to myself but I pretty much do that anyway for obvious reasons. I tend to get bullied about it otherwise. But you'd know all about that, riiight?" I laughed, making a jab at the fact that HE used to bully me too for being the daughter of a pair of ghosting hunting freaks.

_"Pfft, whatever Dani,"_ Vallen scoffed, rolling his eyes but smiling back at me with a playful glint in his eyes, _"Who's laughing now that we're all eating our words now anyway now that we know ghosts are real? You are! Anyways, I actually need to get going soon so is there anything else you wanted to talk about? I have to finish this research for my book report."_

Smiling I asked, "Actually, the other reason I called is that I'd like to invite you to hang out with us as a sort of pre-birthday thing on Monday. Trish, Sam, and I are going to the arcade. You in?"

_"As long as there's actual cake still involved, hell yeah,"_ Vallen winked and after I gave him the time and told him to meet us after school, I ended the call with a smile on my face, feeling much better knowing that Vallen wasn't regretting becoming friends with me after all.

He was still worried about me and about himself which makes sense but the guy really needed to pace himself so I'm glad he agreed to come because this would help us all unwind a bit. I'd call Trish and Sam tomorrow to let them know Vallen was coming with us. Now the only thing weighing on my mind was what insanity Vlad was planning for my real birthday. Because knowing him, if it was anything like our first special night together after accepting our feelings, I was in for something amazing...

...and expensive.


	35. Vehement

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

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Chapter 35: Vehement

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Vallen's POV

"Sorry, Dani..." I winced after our video chat ended. "Looks like Mr. Masters was right, I haven't been a very good friend to you lately, have I? So...going to the arcade might actually be a good way to fix that. AND, by doing something perfectly normal with you I can prove to my dad then that we're really just friends."

_Well, at least until I can get a handle on the ghost hunting thing and pick a better time to ask her out again. I mean, since Sam obviously hasn't made his next move dating Dani is still fair game,_ I added silently to myself, smiling as I shut everything down and started getting ready to go out on patrol.

I was planning on taking Vlad's advice of dialing back on the ghost research a bit since the last thing I needed was Dani or my dad finding out that I was doing more than just researching ghosts in books. I was out in the field kicking their ass in real-time too. Seriously, whoever sent me that suit knew their stuff gave me a ton of great weapons and other anti-ghost tools to work with but it still took me a while to get used to them, not to mention the flying on my hoverboard. Dani Phantom made it look so easy, the flying I mean, but then again she was a ghost which is why I had to learn their weaknesses and basic powers from scratch.

As much as I hate to admit it, I learned a lot just from watching her the few times our paths crossed. There was no way in hell I'd ever trust a ghost but as long as she wasn't the enemy I could look the other way for now. There was no telling when that would change though. Dani Phantom may act like a hero NOW, but what if this whole hero thing was just a cover-up to get rid of the competition? I was ready for any possibility at this point no matter how much Mr. Master assured my dad that the ghost girl was the least of our worries...

She attracted trouble, and that was that.

Anyway, like I was saying, at first I thought this was all a trap when someone just so happened to sent me ghost hunting equipment right after Mr. Masters turned me down when I asked to join his special anti-ghost task force. I still had my suspicions that maybe HE gave it to me but that would mean Mr. Masters was doing this behind the back of his own head of security, aka my dad, and he just didn't seem like the kind of guy that would do that. Then again, when Mr. Masters basically called me out on my big ghost hunting secret he didn't seem very surprised about it.

I guess it doesn't really matter who sent it as long as it got the job done and I could protect Dani. She's done a lot more for me than anyone else did when things got rough and honestly...I was kinda shocked at first. Back then, Dani was just a weirdo with parents who believed in ghosts enough to make studying them their JOB. Her brother was normal enough so he was off the hook and no one dared tease him, but Dani, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. Frankly, I wasn't as active with the bullying since I had better things to do with my time, but I didn't care about her or her friends one way or another as long as they stayed away from me.

That's why it felt humiliating to have the three biggest losers in school see me like that when we had to move out of our old house, I thought they were there to gloat but Dani surprised me because even though she ran off just before that ghost girl and the dog showed up again she pulled some strings and got my dad his job back. I couldn't figure out why she cared so much when I hadn't done anything to deserve her pity, but as it turns out, Dani's a very caring person and likes to help people. She just never gets the chance to since people see her as the daughter of two eccentric weirdos.

But I know better now. I can see Dani for who she is and not only is she pretty cool, but the things she's had to deal with her entire life made what happened to me pale in comparison. I thought the ghost dog thing was bad but Dani was kidnapped by a ghost and more recently a ghost stole her voice and I couldn't do anything to help. It was so frustrating since I wanted to help because it was the least I could do to pay her back. At least that's how it started out.

Eventually though I realized...I'd fallen hard for Dani Fenton.

She was smart, beautiful, caring, loyal, friendly, talented, easy to talk to, and most of all Dani was stronger than anyone gave her credit for to put up with all the stress at home and school for as long as she did. That's why I tried to get people to back off from teasing her so much because for one thing, she didn't deserve it, and secondly I wasn't about to let anyone degrade Dani like this anymore when it wasn't her fault her parents were like that. I guess that's another reason I wanted to date her. If she became popular too I could protect her better.

Maybe not Sam or Trish but hey, being friends with someone popular might improve things for them too even though they aren't teased nearly as much as she is. Sam's too anti-social to care and Trish, well even I have to admit she's pretty cute and very smart, just sometimes a little too smart and it comes off as a bit too nerdy. I'd never tell her that though since Trish was pretty cool too in her own right. But Sam Manson was a whole other can of worms. That guy CLEARLY has a thing for Dani too but won't admit it or when he does it only makes things harder for Dani. I made that mistake too which is why I'm going to be more careful this time. I cared about her too much to put that kind of pressure on Dani which is why I decided that helping reduce the number of ghosts that could bother her or her family down so she could finally start to relax again.

I suppose I'm part of the reason she's been so anxious recently but now that I'm better at fighting ghosts I see no reason to avoid her anymore. Originally I just didn't want some punk ghost going after her because they have a grudge against me the way the other ghosts that have targeted her have because of Dani's parents. And since Mr. Masters was secretly on my side instead of against me like I thought I could relax a bit too. Besides, my dad said it wouldn't be long until the first few task force members finished their training and were fitted with new gear too which was his way of saying that I could leave protecting Dani to the professionals.

Pfft, yeah right! Dani's own parents were professionals and they couldn't shoot the broad side of a barn. That's why I wasn't about to stop until I'm sure they're more than just security guards with anti-ghost weapons, they needed to know what fighting ghosts was like in actual practice and not a simulation. My research would be just as helpful to my dad and Mr. Masters as it was to Dani so I had to make my time as a hunter count. I didn't mind stepping down once I knew they could handle things, but for now, I was going to be the one who took the fight to the ghosts...for Dani's sake.

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Vlad's POV

Looking back on my abrupt visit to Fenton Works, perhaps I did let my personal feelings cloud my judgment more than I should have. But after everything Danielle's been through this past year, I wasn't about to let another opportunity to bring some much-needed joy into her life be wasted. Especially with her birthday since I know Danielle hasn't exactly had many in her life thus far where her personal interests were properly taken into account. At least, apart from what her friends did.

In any event, I had everything planned out perfectly not only with Danielle's birthday but with the next phase of my other plans as well. It took a lot of threats and searching the Ghost Zone on little information, but I have uncovered the location of at least one of the Four Horsemen although which one that is was difficult to say. But this meant I could safely approach the Fright Knight with my proposition to dethrone the Ghost King in exchange for helping him regain his former glory and rescue the remaining three Horsemen.

I would wait until things settled down of course before beginning this phase since I knew how devastated Danielle would be if she was able to enjoy her birthday only to have the town invaded by ghosts and being forced to find a way to fight them on her own. She would not be alone however, I had young Vallen Gray on my side and it wouldn't be much longer until the task force his father was training were ready to be put to work. And they would certainly have their work cut out for them when the Ghost King's army invaded this place in search of the Ring of Rage which was in Danielle's safekeeping.

She knew part of it's true purpose but not everything, and even I could fiegn ignorance on the existance of the Ghost King since he was in fact older than most of the ghosts she was familiar with. Besides, I had a replica of it made to use as a diversion just to get the Ghost King here. As I said though, my first priority right now was planning the perfect seventeenth birthday for Danielle which thankfully was laughably easy to do...

Not to say I didn't put just as much thought into planning that too. And since Danielle's parents consented to let me take care of everything I knew exactly what to do. And while I detested the idea of inviting that smart-mouthed brat Sam I assume Danielle would want me to invite him and her friend Miss Foley as well. I would have my personal chef prepare everything and hire decorators because I already had the perfect theme in mind. It wouldn't take long to arrange everything since I have powerful connections and can arrenge events within a few day's time quite easily which was the case here.

A shame it had to be on such a small scale but I knew Danielle wouldn't want to make the wrong impression by allowing me to throw her such an elaborate party only to show off to her peers. I believe that simply having something planned entirely for her down to the smallest detail would make Danielle's birthday this year a fond one to remember for years to come. And with any luck, we would be spending many of them together in the future as well. But for now, this would have to do, as short notice as it is I'm sure I could pull a few strings to invite a special guest or two to this party, one of which was merely a decoy to keep her parents occupied to reduce the risk of them embarassing her. Thankfully I knew how to take Jack's monsterous appetite into account too so there would be ample amounts of food for everyone to enjoy.

I suppose it was only right to invite Vallen and his father as well though I could always create an emergency at Axion Labs for him to rush off and take care of if that made Danielle too uncomfortable. Personally I was hoping Samson's parents would make up their own excuse not to come simply because they disapproved of the Fenton Family's profession of ghost hunting and how it affected their son. While I do not know them personally I was certain that Miss Foley's parents would be the easiest to entertain. I would, of course, ask Danielle how many guests she would prefer to have invited to her birthday party but I had a strong feeling the guest list would be quite small.

Danielle enjoyed being the center of attention on occasion as much as any young lady her age, but she was also reserved and with good reason considering the fact that we were both half-ghost. And she was not the boastful type so again, Danielle was highly unlikely to invite the people who bullied her at school to this party as I mentioned before. Either way, this was going to be her night so the gifts, the food, the decorations, all of it would be shaped by Danielle's wishes. This did not mean however that I didn't have a few additional surprises in store for her.

It may take some more...convincing on my part and possibly overshadowing but I wanted Danielle to give her nothing less than the best of everything I could within reason. Her words, not mine because if Danielle was older and I had my way I would give the darling girl her own private island.

Still...I suppose giving her her own star would have to do.

* * *

Danielle's POV

In the end, I never did get a hold of Vlad but I figured he was swamped with major plans for my birthday which I was both excited about and secretly dreaded. What if he went overboard and people started to suspect Vlad saw me as more than a daughter? Every time I thought about it my stomach would do summersaults which is why I wasted no time making sure Trish and Sam were on board for our usual pre-birthday plans with the addition of Vallen this time. Trish didn't mind at all and surprisingly Sam was at least being civil about it after realizing he was being a bit too hard on the guy just for his previous bully-like attitude which has long since gone away.

Vallen was our friend now, at least mine and Trish's but Sam would come around eventually as long as I kept my cool and made sure they both knew I wasn't ready to date either of them. Of course they didn't have to know that I never planned to since I was already with Vlad. I couldn't evade their advances forever but if I could just get through the rest of this year and make it through to our own Senoir graduation next year, they'd both be too busy applying for colleges to worry about me. That's what I'm hoping at least...

I felt incredibly relieved when Sam didn't protest when Vallen offered to drive us all to the arcade, it saved us at least fifteen minutes of walking and it looked like it was going to rain soon anyway. I've gotta admit, after being driven around so often in Vlad's limo sometimes being in a normal car felt so much more...personal. I said I didn't care about having my own car but maybe I did more than I thought because there was a certain freedom in having one. Sam's parents tried to get him one when he was fifteen but he was totally against being given something he didn't earn the old fashioned way since his parents were pretty rich.

As for Trish and I, well we had our own car problems. The obvious one for me is the fact that I'm a girl and my parents didn't want me driving around with a boy in the car even if said boy was Sam who I've been friends with like my whole life almost. With Trish, there was that and the fact that her first instinct after getting her own car would be to go on a road trip which as smart as she is wouldn't be the best idea if it broke down somewhere since they probably would have to get her a used car on the condition that she didn't try to customize it herself with untested advanced technology parts the same way my parents do with the Fenton RV. Which btw would have been the car I was given since Jason get his own pretty early on too as a reward for flawless high grades in school.

I was lost in thought when Trish tapped my shoulder and pointed out that we were already at the arcade. So with a smile, we all climbed out and I handed everyone a list of games we were competing to beat the high score of as part of the birthday festivities. Since it was usually just the three of us it was usually all in good fun and we would work together to beat the score of at least one of the games on the list, but I had a feeling that today this contest would serve another purpose of letting Sam and Vallen work out some of their differences through some friendly compition. Trish and I had a few extra games on our list that we usually played on our own since Sam wasn't into them, mainly those dance-off ones.

"So, which game should we hit first?" I asked with a grin as soon as we stepped inside and were greeted by the tall-tale scent of musty carpets and freshly baked pizza.

"You're the birthday girl, why are you asking us?" Sam smiled, pretending Vallen wasn't standing right next to him.

"Well, it's only polite to give the illusion of choice," I winked, running a finger down the list in my hand, "I'm thinking we try that new shooting game they installed to replace the glitchy version of Space Crusaders. They were losing money the game still let you play of you shot the bottom left corner of the screen three times in a row as soon as the continue menu read 5 seconds left. Not many people knew about the glitch but I guess enough did to make it a problem."

"Oh man so that glitch was on the left side? No wonder I never got it to work! I always shot the top right corner..." Trish laughed, looking over my shoulder at my list instead of her own. "Want me to go see if it's open? They might not have finished installing it yet since they only got the shipment of new games in last week and the installation was delayed when the power went out all over town, remember?"

I nodded, knowing exactly what she was talking about since that's when Technus tried to bring all the videogame characters to life as his new techno army only to realize too late that the characters he brought to life were, well, still in character and most of them were heroes so it was easy to convince them to help me take him down. That was probably one of my more entertaining fights since the whole Doom fiasco.

Vallen quirked an eyebrow at our exchange but didn't say anything, at least not about that. He did ask if this was a tradition of ours in which case I answered...yes, yes it was. I didn't have enough friends to ever throw a party for unlike my brother so Sam, Trish and I made a game of seeing who could beat the high score of a game first by working as a team. Of course, we did compete against each other in a few games but it was mostly just for fun. I did admit that I would have preferred to do laser tag but they shut that down in this arcade after some idiot broke in and replaced the lasers with paintball guns as a prank and you can imagine the messy results...

Not to mention paintballs can hurt like hell without the proper protective gear.

"I didn't peg you as someone intested in laser tag Dani, then again maybe your parents made you do it as combat training," Vallen laughed, earning a dirty look from Sam who quickly wiped it off his face as soon as I gave him a look of my own. "Easy man, I'm only kidding. Anyways, lets get this party started before we run out of daylight. But don't think I'll go easy on you just because it's your birthday, Dani."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, but I'll have you know...for a girl I'm a pretty good shot. Trust me," Glancing at Sam with a smile to let him know I wasn't mad, he relaxed his shoulders and shook his head, telling us he was going to beat both of us without breaking a sweat and not holding back either. And so...after meeting up with Trish at the first game our epic rivalty for best shooter began.


	36. Paranoia

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Sorry about the long delay, been suffering from writer's block and dealing with lots of issues in my personal life but I think we're ok. For now at any rate. I hope you like the new chapter!

* * *

Chapter 36: Paranoia

* * *

Danielle's POV

I know it's kinda silly to say this now given how many shooting games we played but I really had a blast hanging out with Vallen, Sam, and Trish. Everything went just as I hoped they would for once and before long Vallen and Sam seemed to be getting along for real, or at least they begrudgingly praised each other's mad gaming skills. It was fun to watch them really go at it to see who could get the higher score and they were neck and neck with most of the games on the list. In fact, towards the end somehow Trish and I ended up as cheerleaders since it was such an interesting competition between the two boys. Too bad I knew the real reason behind it though, each of them was trying to prove who was better in general and who was _'worthy'_ of me.

I tried not to think about once they finally settled down and asked me expectantly who I thought was the most skilled shooter. I told them they were both amazing and it was true but I could tell that deflated their egos a little. So to cheer them up I decided it was about time to sit down for cake and thankfully they left it at that. We had fun chatting after that but for some reason, I had this weird feeling that I was being watched. I knew this was a busy place and all that and my ghost sense hadn't gone off, so what was this uneasiness I was feeling...?

"Dani, you ok?" Sam asked, side glancing at me when I turned away from them before taking another bite of cake.

Turning my head towards him, I nodded, "Yeah, sorry about that. I just zoned out there for a second. Anyways, I think I'm going to go splash some water in my face to see if that helps at all. There's still some time left before we have to head home and there're a few more games I want to try. Be right back!" Smiling I popped the stray piece of cake in my mouth and then headed straight to the bathroom without missing a beat.

Out of habit, I checked to make sure it was completely empty before doing anything else, which in this case really was just splashing some water in my face. Glancing up at my reflection in the mirror as small droplets of water dripped off the tips of my hair I thought to myself, What's wrong with me? I'm having a good time so what's with this weird feeling...?

"I'm probably just worrying over nothing," I sighed, shook my head, and dried off my face before heading back.

Besides, if I was being watched hopefully it was just Vlad waiting for a chance to talk to me in private. I couldn't sense him or anything, but I had a hunch that he was going to get in touch with me soon. And maybe if I knew what Vlad was planning I wouldn't feel so paranoid.

After all, I wasn't a big fan of surprises...even when they came from someone I trusted. Not since a year ago anyway. Let's just hope he keeps that in mind and doesn't go overboard. Knowing Vlad though, sometimes even he forgot the meaning of the word 'subtle' if what happened when I mentioned my birthday coming up was anything to judge by...

* * *

Vlad's POV

It was fortunate that I didn't have to keep Danielle busy this time, she was keeping herself busy by spending time with her friends. And that gave me ample time to complete the birthday preparations. In all honesty, I actually had a difficult time holding back because there were so many things I wanted to do for her and ways I wanted to show Danielle how dear she was to me. But I suppose I would have plenty of other chances to show her soon once things settled down again.

For now, however, everything was in place so now all that was left was to wait for the big day to arrive. And speaking of arrivals, Danielle was due home any minute now so I patiently awaited her nearby, ready to whisk her away to talk about what happened. I never meant to overstep my bounds but I suppose seeing the disinterest she had in something as simple as her birthday because the people in her life often ruined it broke my heart and made me want to do something about it.

Danielle wasn't alone anymore, she had me and I would do whatever it took to make sure her smile never died. I lived for that smile and since it's a smile that's actually aimed towards me I wasn't about to let anything happen to her. I've failed her a few times when she needed me most but never again. No matter how mundane, I would keep fighting for Danielle's happiness because if anyone deserved it, she did. And in turn, so did I after being denied love for so long...

What we were doing was difficult and to many it would seem sick and wrong, but we existed outside many of the world's rules now. We weren't entirely human anymore and who's to say our lifespans wouldn't extend because of our ghost powers or perhaps come to a standstill? For all I knew, we had eternity together and even if this wasn't the case I was willing to make it a reality just so the two of us would never have to be parted.

She's too important to me.

That's why I had something else planned for her birthday that was a little more private, and no as tempted as I am I don't mean sleeping together. It's just that while setting everything up I couldn't help but feel reminded of our first date and the first time we danced. I longed to share another evening with her like that where it was just the two of us. As such, it might be time to cash in a few favors to make sure that the extra _'after party'_ was an even more memorable experience.

I smiled at the thought before I spotted Vallen's car pull up in front of Fenton Works and watched as Danielle stepped out of the passenger's seat carrying what appeared to be a large plush Narwhal with stars on it in her arms. Her friends must have banded together to get enough tickets for it as a gift. And since I did not see Miss Foley or Samson in the car I assumed Vallen dropped them off first which was fortunate since I wanted to talk to Danielle alone.

I watched them from the roof of the opposite building in ghost form, waiting until she was alone again, but as I did I couldn't help but notice the way Vallen was looking at her. I knew that look and frankly, it made my energy spike when it reminded me of the last time someone I loved was stolen from me. Thankfully I made all of Vallen's ghost hunting gear ignored my signature but it was clear that Danielle sensed me because moments later I saw her grip on the plush toy tightened and she coughed into her fist to hide her ghost sense going off. Clever girl. Still, I don't know why I was so surprised, I knew Vallen had feelings for Danielle but I suppose it was more difficult to watch than to simply know of.

I couldn't let my emotions cloud my judgment again so I shook my head and took a few deep breaths, watching Vallen like a hawk as he bid Danielle farewell and drove off. Still carrying the large plush in her arms, Danielle scanned the area for a moment before heading inside to deposit the stuffed animal before phasing through the window of her bedroom and flying higher to find out where I was. She had to know it was me otherwise Danielle would have made an excused to leave Vallen's presence much sooner than she did.

A few moments later I decided to go to her instead and teleported a few feet away so as not to startle her too badly. We really did need to work on that. Being ready for battle with a ghost at a moment's notice was good and all but her knee jerk reactions to a threat made me worry. I didn't want Danielle to continue living in fear of ghost attacks. I wanted her to have a normal life again, one that we could share...

"Vlad, jeez you scared me!" Danielle sighed heavily, gliding over to me. "I didn't expect to see you so soon so is everything alright?"

Honestly, no, it wasn't alright but letting Vallen get close to her was the price I was paying for Danielle's additional safety so I smiled and replied, "Of course everything is fine, I just wanted to steal a moment of your time if I may. I wanted to apologize for my behavior and talk to you about your birthday. I would have called but didn't want to get in the way of you spending time with your friends which was part of your original plan. Did you have a good time at the arcade, my dear?"

I was taken aback when Danielle confessed calmly, "For the most part yeah, but then I had this weird feeling like I was being watched so I transformed and flew around the arcade for a few minutes to make sure there wasn't a ghost nearby that I just didn't notice while we were busy playing games. In the end, I didn't find anything though so when I came back we stayed a little longer than planned because apparently, while I was _'in the bathroom'_ the three of them decided to try and get enough tickets to win me a prize as a sort of joint birthday present. That's how I ended up with that stuffed Narwhal. So uh, you didn't send anyone to spy on me did you? For my protection and all that? Because there's just this uneasy feeling I haven't been able to shake off and I wondered if maybe I was feeling your feelings again there's something you need to get off your-"

Without another word I instinctively pulled Danielle into my arms and while petting her snowy white hair I explained, "Danielle I would never invade your privacy unless I had to and besides which I haven't had anyone watching you for some time now since we resolved the matter with the Banshee. As for my own feelings of uneasiness, I...suppose I did get a little jealous of young Vallen a moment ago when I saw how he was looking at you so perhaps that's what you felt. Then again if you've been feeling uneasy since visiting the arcade then I'm not sure what caused it. My guess is you're worried about what birthday surprises I have in store but I promise you, my dear, it's nothing too elaborate because I don't want anyone to think I am spoiling you more than an _'uncle'_ should."

Lifting her chin I lightly brushed my lips across hers and smiled, "I'm sure it's nothing a good night's sleep won't solve. I know I got carried away before but as I said...you mean the world to me so I can't help but leap at the chance to show how much you mean to me. If it makes you feel any better, for your birthday I've arranged for us to enjoy a private dinner party with your friends and family and afterward I have something else in store to commemorate the first time we met. It seemed only fitting to give you a better memory of dancing with me..."

My eyes softened as Danielle blushed deeply and buried her face in my chest, pulling my cape up around her shoulders as if to hide herself from view. "I uh...wow, I didn't expect you to spoil the surprise like that so easily. But thanks, I feel a little better at least knowing what to expect. Thank you."

"Oh don't thank me yet, I do have a few surprises in store since I couldn't help myself," I laughed, holding her closer as my tone grew a bit more serious, "Still, if you feel as though you're being watched it would be foolish of me to ignore your concerns. Paranoia or not experience has taught me not to ignore such feelings since there is always a reason behind it. So I'll watch over you tonight as a way of apologizing for my brash actions earlier. Would that be alright?"

"Are you sure you're not too busy with other things? I don't want you up all night if you still have business meetings or something. It's probably nothing and knowing me I'm just feeling jumpy for no reason," even as she said this though I could tell Danielle felt comforted by the thought of me taking a more active role to protect her personally because she smiled and seemed content in my arms.

Then again she had a long day and I realized Danielle was probably feeling tired and was likely to nod off soon so I effortlessly scooped her into my arms. Danielle didn't resist as I brought her back inside and she changed back to her human form, yawning. After that, I told her that everything was taken care of for now so I didn't mind staying with her tonight. Truth be told I just wanted to keep holding her so it was an easy choice to make. And if anyone did show up, I would make sure they didn't disturb Danielle's rest. That could be one of my first gifts to her, a restful night's sleep with someone else keeping watch. I wasn't about to go patrolling the town, but I didn't mind keeping an eye on Fenton Works.

More importantly, an eye on Danielle because I wasn't going to let anyone like the Banshee catch us off guard again. Where Vallen fell short I would not, I would protect her even from imagined fears until there were none left. This was something only I could do. And it was something I was only willing to do...for her.


	37. Dazzling

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Ok, it's time for another time skip to move things along but I have an idea for a future event in the story so I'll flashback of it later when it's actually relevant. And don't worry this will be the last bit of fluff and such before things ramp up again. Woohoo! Also, apologies in advance that this chapter is so long and nothing really happens but I promise, something exciting will be happening very very soon!

* * *

Chapter 37: Dazzling

* * *

Danielle's POV

When I woke up the next morning I felt the most refreshed I have in a while after Vlad unexpectedly offered to watch over me. Realistically I knew Vlad couldn't do this for me EVERY night, but it helped me out a lot more then he realized so I made a mental note to thank him later. Being able to sleep peacefully for once was a very thoughtful gift. And the star covered Narwhal my friends won for me at the arcade was very soft and made a great pillow too.

Anyway, after stretching and scanning the room, I noticed Vlad's note tucked away in my dresser drawer where he briefly told me which ghosts showed up last night and how long he stayed to take care of them before heading home. I mean obviously Vlad wouldn't want to risk falling asleep here by accident in ghost form and being attacked by my parents. That would raise all sorts of unwanted questions. And once I committed the note to memory I burnt it with some ectoenergy in my hand.

After that, I smiled to myself and began to get ready for the day.

As soon as I was all dressed I made sure I sent a text to Vlad to thank him for last night too and told him I'd stop by if I could. Normally I'm not a morning person, but compared to my parents today I was a ray of sunshine. They had just pulled an all-nighter working on some new battle suit thing. So far they'd only made progress on the pants and judging from what I overheard they were still super buggy; which was good news for me since most of their inventions were bad news for ghosts and half-ghosts.

So, in that case, I doubt they'd have enough energy to bug me about getting the chores done right away so I took advantage of that to relax for a bit and enjoy the quiet. I didn't have anywhere to be today since I already hung out with Sam, Trish, and Vallen yesterday. After all, I didn't want to impose on them since they were invited to this dinner party thing on Wednesday. So I thought to myself, maybe if Vlad was up to it we could do some extra training today. Then again, he might be tired after keeping an eye on things so I figured I'd wait until I heard back from him one way or another.

* * *

Sadly, I wasn't able to see much of Vlad on Sunday after all or the following two days since he said he wanted to keep at least a few of my birthday surprises a secret. That was fine by me and besides, as long as I was still able to talk to him this time that didn't bother me as much as it did last time Vlad was doing his own thing.

On a side note, at school things were going surprisingly well between Sam and Vallen. I guess our little arcade trip really did the trick and Sam was finally warming up to Vallen at least a little bit. It was almost too good to be true if I'm being honest. And unfortunately, I still had this weird feeling I was being watched too but since it wasn't Vlad and I couldn't find evidence of actually being spied on I tried not to make a big deal out of it.

I didn't even tell Sam and Trish about it because the last thing I wanted was for them to start worrying about me again. Vlad knew about how I was feeling though and he promised he'd look into it for me to uncover whether or I was imagining it so I put my faith in him and went about my life as usual; you know, doing my homework, making excused to leave to stop a few ghost attacks, evading bullies before and after lunch, that sort of thing. It was becoming a daily routine again but at least as far as the bullies went Vallen was doing a better job at distracting them since he was feeling better too it seemed. We weren't hanging out together publicly or anything yet, but he was always civil to me even around his other friends who knew better than to start trouble in front of him if they wanted to stay in the _'in-crowd'_ too.

By the time the day of my actual birthday finally rolled around, for the first time in years I managed to feel excited about it. Jason even convinced mom to make breakfast too with chocolate chip pancakes and everything! I had like, three of them before Jason offered to drive me to school and I was totally on board with that. Sam and Trish told me ahead of time that they were heading to school early and would meet me there so they could give me their birthday presents since something came up and they wouldn't be able to make it to Vlad's dinner party until later in the evening. Honestly, I'm sure that suited Vlad just fine since he and Sam were still a little at odds with each other.

A shame I couldn't get THEM to get along too.

Speaking of people getting along with each other, I was a bit surprised that Vallen and his dad were going to be there too which I'll admit had me a little nervous. Mr. Grey was going to see my parents up close and personal realize just how...passionate and intense they can be about ghost hunting. So personally I was kinda hoping they'd be too busy eating to talk about much, especially my dad since Vlad already knew how much of a foodie he was from personal experience.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little since Vlad's personal chef was certainly going to have his work cut out for him. Especially if it was only him in the kitchen making all that food. Then again Vlad probably hired a few extra hands to make sure everything went smoothly and there was more than enough food for everyone to enjoy, myself included since it was nearly impossible to get seconds at home with dad around. It just comes with the territory.

The rest of the day went pretty well and I loved the gifts Vallen, Trish, and Sam gave me. Trish gave me the latest version of a videogame I enjoy, Sam gave me this really comfy blue and white NASA T-shirt, and finally, Vallen gave me a couple of music CDs from two of my favorite bands. So, all in all, I was having a good day and I was determined not to let anything ruin it. I could only hope my luck would hold out and just like Vlad promised, I would finally have the first decent birthday I've had in years.

And hopefully, it wouldn't be the last.

* * *

"I still can't believe you managed to get their parents to come too," I laughed while talking to Vlad over the phone from the roof near the OP-center for some privacy. "Let me guess, they're more there as a distraction for MY parents right? Are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into? Sam's parents tolerate me for his sake even though my parents are so eccentric, Trish's parents pity me more than anything because of how they are, and then there's Vallen's dad who thinks he's in my debt because you gave him his fancy security job back but he's worried about my parents giving his son dangerous ideas about hunting ghosts to impress both of us."

_"You worry too much my dear,"_ Vlad chuckled before reassuring me,_ "I have my ways and before the evening is over I'm certain they'll see each other in a new light. Managing the unmanageable is why I've been so successful in my businesses. Besides, tonight is about you so I'll make sure to keep everyone happy and smooth over any rough edges between them. The real party won't begin until they've all gone home, including your friends. Trust me, I won't let anything happen to ruin this dinner even if I have to nudge some of them in a more pleasant direction with their conversation choices."_

"Right, but promise me you'll only use overshadowing as a LAST resort, not the first. I learned the hard way how much it can confuse people..." I trailed off while thinking about the first time I overshadowed someone when I accidentally did that to Diana and made her say something embarrassing to Paul when she tried to ask him to a dance at our school.

Ignoring my silence, Vlad continued thoughtfully,_ "Perish the thought! I can easily handle someone like Jack without resorting to such a thing. I've been at this long enough that I rarely even need to use that method. Sometimes a nudge is all anyone needs to make up their minds because the people you overshadow will always be compelled to forget, do, or remember something after being possessed. It's a very handy trick."_

I raised an eyebrow when something about the way he said that sounded kinda off to me but I shrugged and sighed, "You're right, you had to make your billions somehow and overshadowing everyone isn't an option so fair enough. I just hope you're really ready for anything since Sam's parents especially can complicate things-"

_"Like father like son I assume?"_ Vlad snickered then quickly covered it up with, _"At any rate the dinner itself won't last long so don't you worry about that my dear. We'll start with the meal then move onto dessert and presents just like you had originally planned but with the extra addition of a more...personalized feel to the event. I do hope you enjoy yourself since I took special care to ensure everything was to your liking without going too far. And once everyone else returns home for the evening, I'll come to pick you up for the main event."_

"I can't wait," I replied warmly, knowing how much work he put into all this just for me. "And Vlad, I know it may be too early to actually say this, but thank you for everything. This whole thing was unexpected but honestly, I'm glad I have something to look forward to this year."

_"No need to thank me, it's the least I can do. And you know I'd happily do more if it would make you smile. I love you, Danielle, and sure you understand how deep those feelings of mine go even after all we've been through together. I cherish every moment with you and would do anything for you, anything at all,"_ Vlad told me, his voice warm and earnest.

_I know,_ I thought to myself after remembering the less reputable things Vlad's done for me, but I kept that to myself and smiled, "Thanks Vlad, I love you too and I'll see you soon."

_"Yes, see you soon my dear,"_ Vlad chuckled and with that, the call finally ended and it was time to see the result of all his secret birthday planning for myself.

* * *

Vlad really outdid himself this time, I know this wasn't like a fancy ball or anything but I felt a bit under-dressed as soon as I saw where the dinner party was taking place. The dining room was decorated with a night sky theme in mind and it was surprisingly dark inside until Vlad asked the staff he hired for this dinner party to light the room with strategically placed glass lanterns with colored glass that gave everything a gentle blue glow. And they gave off plenty of light too despite how dim the rest of the room was.

I was in awe as I looked around, the entire room was lined with these blue velvet curtains with silver thread work on them that caught the light and mimicked the night sky. Then, in the four corners of the room, there were those cool LED balloons I've only seen at New Years' parades. The main attraction, however, was the table itself. On top of it was a royal blue table cloth, the lanterns obviously so we could see our food, and these expensive-looking plates with gold trim and back with a similar blue finish as the tablecloth and delicately painted stars with gold silverware to match. Even the wine classes were fancy and had a different constellation on each one!

Oh yes, Vlad looked very pleased with himself when he saw our jaws drop, and as I passed he gave me an extra wink before showing us to our seats. And if I understood Vlad correctly he would be sitting at the head of the table as the host. Sam and Trish were running a little late with their parents, but Vallen and his dad were there so their seats were somewhat close because as the birthday girl I was given a seat right next to Vlad and my brother was right across from me on the other side. It was a clever way of keeping me close while still being considerate of the rest of his guests.

Still, I couldn't help but snicker a little when I noticed that mom and dad were given seats as far from the rest of us as possible. They basically had the whole end of the table to themselves which mom thought was odd at first until Vlad explained why they weren't sitting closer to the head of the table. This was all part of his plan so that my dad almost had a whole meal to himself from there and keep his appetite at bay so the rest of us could enjoy seconds if we wanted without fear of him hogging it all. Mom understood the logic in that and it would explain why two of the servers were stationed on that end of the room specifically to make sure my dad was well fed...

Once everyone finally made it, Vlad explained that the main coarse was going to be served soon but in the meantime, there were some appetizers on the table we were welcome to enjoy until then. It was mostly freshly baked bread paired with various dipping sauces and butter but thankfully Vlad assured me that he knew Sam was a vegetarian and took that into account, meaning he would have a fresh salad made for anyone who wanted one momentarily and could ask the servers for drinks and such too.

I was surprised Vlad was being so considerate of Sam's food choices, but then again I realized that Sam probably wouldn't have come to this dinner party otherwise if he didn't have something to eat too. Admittedly, I could see how it would kinda suck to go to a dinner party if you were on a special diet, allergic to some, or didn't eat any meat like Sam. I know I'd feel bad if I went to a birthday party serving ice cream sundaes and was lactose intolerant so I could only watch everyone else enjoy themselves. So I smiled when Sam swallowed some pride and actually thanked Vlad for giving him that option.

And with that, I heard music as it began playing from a pianist playing a grand piano that was tucked into one corner of the room behind its own velvet curtain that I hadn't noticed earlier. Vlad must have had one put in here so we could have live music playing while we eat. I barely noticed the chatter going on between Vlad and everyone's parents as I turned my head to listen to it a bit more closely. This music had a nice energy to it that was lively but still mellow enough to fade into the background. I'd have to ask him what songs he gave the pianist to play later and if said pianist would be playing during our...special dance once everyone else went home and I doubled back for his last birthday surprise.

I was brought back to reality when Trish began gushing over how soft the bread was and how the room was decorated. She knew I wanted to be an astronaut but forgot that enjoying the sight of stars was part of that, hence the night sky decorations. Her parents were impressed too and joined in asking questions about what inspired Vlad to decorate things like this for me.

It was a little embarrassing hearing Vlad compliment how passionate I was about traveling the stars and have everyone's attention turn towards me but what was even more shocking was how my parents looked at me as if seeing me for the first time and mom admitted that Vlad did a great job planning this. I couldn't agree more and for awhile we managed to avoid any mention of ghosts until dad asked Mr. Grey what it was like working directly under Vlad as his head of anti-ghost security. I knew this was coming but thankfully so did Vlad so Vallen's dad was barely able to give him part of an answer before the food arrived.

I swear this was unlike any dinner party I've ever been to where the food was served to you just like at a real restaurant on these ornate trays with lids and everything to keep everything fresh. We were given several options for drinks too but in the end I was all about the sparkling cider which also came in several flavors. Part of me still felt like this whole dinner might be a bit overkill but considering how rich Vlad was, to everyone else this WAS him being tame.

I'm normally not that shy but when Sam's parents started asking me why Vlad was so determined to do this for me I told them, "Well, ever since the day we met Vlad's been like family to me and since he hasn't been around for any of my other birthdays I suppose he wanted to make this one extra special."

If they only knew how special this one really is, I thought while sparing Vlad a side glance, smiling to myself. Having a birthday actually be about me for once and not my family legacy as a Fenton means a lot to me. I can only hope Vlad really does know what he's doing and can keep everyone on their best behavior. Especially my dad.

* * *

All in all the dinner party went pretty well. As promised Vlad kept my parents busy and everyone happy like a true host and the dinner itself was fantastic! You'd think I'd have gotten used to his private chef's cooking but they always found new ways to surprise me. How he managed to make a veggie version of chicken cordon bleu for Sam that was good enough for him to ask for seconds was a feat in and of itself. And that was just the main course! To go with the bread appetizers we were served soup and alternatively salads for those who didn't want it.

At the end of the dinner, a fancy custom cake was brought in which was literally decorated to look all of the planets stacked on top of each other and this intricate milk chocolate milky way swirling around the whole thing. It was one of those cakes that almost looked too pretty to eat so we all took pictures before I blew out the candles and we did our best to make room for at least one slice after that big meal...

After that, it was time for presents!

Trish, Vallen, and Sam already gave me theirs at school, or so I thought so I was surprised when Trish and Sam each gave me an extra one that went together that they said they pitched in for together since things might get a little more hectic next year once we get ready to graduate. I completely understood that so when I opened it I saw that it was a silver necklace and a star-shaped pendant to go with it I could change out if I wanted to. Smiling I thanked them for it and put it on before moving to the next present.

It was from Mr. Grey and to my surprise, he gave me a copy of a picture that was taken of his father watching the apollo 11 launch back in 1969. This was a really cool piece of family history and it touched me that Vallen's dad was willing to share it with me because I admired astronauts so much. Sam's parents weren't obligated to get anything for me either since we hardly knew each other personally, but it was nice that they did get me something after all even if it was just a new backpack with a built-in charger and wheels. Trish's parents ended up giving me a free movie pass which I looked forward to using pretty soon since a movie I've been waiting forever for was coming out soon.

And finally, it was the moment of truth before Vlad's gifts which he insisted go last so it was Jason and my parent's turns. I was dreading whatever gift my parents had since it was usually some sort of anti-ghost weapon, but I was relieved when Jason got me something a little more normal all things considering. For his gift, Jason gave me a book of constellations throughout history and I was excited to see if there were any that even I didn't know existed...

As for my parent's gift, surprise surprise it was at least somewhat ghost-related. They gave me this weird techy undershirt with thin inlaid wiring that was supposedly capable of protecting me from being overshadowed. It was better than a belt or another gun I suppose but some things never change. Still, I was very happy that so far, at least this year I got a few things I actually wanted and some welcome surprises. I had no doubt there was more to come, especially when Vlad asked us to come outside to show off his other gifts which he decided to put all in one place.

I kinda knew this was coming but I inwardly groaned when Vlad unveiled...a rather big present which was, you guessed it, a car. My parents went berserk when they saw it and walked around it with expressions that were a mixture of annoyance at Vlad for doing this without asking them and awe because of how sleek it was. It was certainly top of the line according to Vlad and he insisted it had all the latest anti-ghost precautions installed already to protect me from harm. That helped smooth things over a bit, meanwhile, Trish couldn't stop squealing and practically drooling over the custom-built vehicle. Vallen was impressed too, especially when Vlad told him that the same technology was built into many of his own vehicles as well and would soon be marketable for the public too if things went well at Axion Labs.

Weird how my birthday ended up becoming a little political for Vlad but then I realized something. There was a reason he invited my friend's parents to this party too, Vlad wanted to impress them and to show how serious he was about taking care of and protecting me from ghosts. He was making sure they were on his side and knew it was a good idea to have him around. Vlad wasn't just a billionaire, he was a concerned uncle looking out for the daughter of his _"best friend"_ and wanted to do the same for their families as well. This was all to keep them in the dark about there being anything else between us while showing how important I was to him.

I could tell it left an impression on all of them and now even Sam's parents seemed to be looking at me in a different light like I was just another normal person trying to get by coping with the now confirmed existence of ghosts that had nothing to do with how eccentric my parents were. And even they were dialing that down since dad was convinced now that Vlad knew what he was doing and that I was in good hands. Jason was impressed too. So all in all, I would say that Vlad succeeded in his plans to dazzle everyone in my life and prove once and for all how serious he was about my well-being and happiness. In a way, this was a confession of his love even though we both knew it wasn't the same kind of love they were thinking of...

To them, I was Vlad's beloved niece, a daughter almost. But to him, I was...everything and I'll admit that even I was dazzled by just how much he did just to make sure that this birthday would be one I never forgot. And the best part is, I knew it wasn't over yet. This part of it was drawing to a close, but the night was still young and I for one couldn't wait to steal a moment alone with him. I wanted to be close to him, to tell him how touched I was by all of this and frankly a little overwhelmed. I didn't know what to expect, but as always, Vlad went above and beyond what I dreamed possible.

I almost didn't want this day to end because I was so happy. But sadly, all good things must come to an end. So I would just have to enjoy the rest of the evening once Vlad brought me back here to spend some time together making new memories of dancing close with him to replace the old ones. Memories of a time when Vlad wasn't quite the knight in shining armor I would have imagined falling in love with...


	38. Starlight

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Ok, this is going to be the last fluff chapter before I start working my way to the main climax of this story which will probably still take a while but I hope you enjoy the journey!

* * *

Chapter 38: Starlight

_(Chapter Inspired by "A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman)_

* * *

Vlad's POV

As expected Danielle looked a bit exasperated by the fact that I bought a car as one of her birthday gifts, but truthfully it was an investment because in my eyes having it was another way I could give Danielle a renewed sense of freedom as well as a way to escape any troubles at home if for whatever reason she couldn't come here to the mansion. Of course, she would still need to get a driver's license which shouldn't be too hard given how much experience behind the wheel Danielle already had from driving her parents Spector Speeder in secret. And I could easily translate those hours into the time required for her to get a license or pull a few strings to cut a few corners since I for one knew she was perfectly capable of driving it already.

Of course, until Danielle was ready for it one way or another I would keep it here in my garage until then. I would also have to appease her parents too since I kept this a secret from them as well. My argument was very convincing if I do say so myself because even though giving a car to someone was perhaps an overly extravagant gift for any teenager and a lot of responsibility, at her age having one was an important right of passage. What's more, I explained that having her own car would also keep Danielle much safer. A young lady shouldn't be riding a motor scooter home by herself after dark to begin with and it couldn't offer protection from the elements either, let alone any ghosts.

To meet them halfway I did tell them that until she could afford her own it I would be paying for the car insurance and such. I had billions to spare after all. And since she was spending so much time here studying with me it seemed only fair that I took responsibility and taught her how to drive responsibly too. Maddie especially couldn't argue with me there since Jack wasn't the best role model and she rarely had time to spend away from the lab either. Personally I didn't think it was THAT important since they hardly made anything useful anyway...

"Ah, before I forget the rest of your presents are in the trunk of the car. Why don't you take a look my dear?" I smiled mischievously as I handed her the keys and before she could protest, fortunately Danielle's friend Trish practically dragged her over there so they could get a better look at it.

Even though she tried not to show it I could tell Danielle was happier about this gift then she let on. If I had to hazard a guess as to how Danielle really felt, she was probably just overwhelmed by the generous gift. Especially because of how top of the line it was upon closer inspection...

I spared no expense since Danielle deserved only the finest things in life from her lover. The seats were made of a strong but comfortable and breathable fabric, there was full air-conditioning throughout the interior from front to back, a built-in phone and GPS, sunroof, and tinted windows. Of course, it did have some extra features that obviously weren't installed in your average car, such as the ghost shield, but like the other shields I've used thus far it was set up to ignore our signatures even when active.

"Don't you think this is a bit much Vlad? I understand your reasons behind but...a car?" Maddie asked skeptically while Danielle and her friends were busy examining the contents of the trunk which contained several new outfits and small trinkets, looking as though she was torn between feeling upset about this, happy to see her daughter so happy, and concerned about this as a parent. "Wouldn't it have been better to save that sort of thing for her 18th birthday instead? She's still in high school and this is a small town so-"

"Honey I don't see the harm in letting her keep it, because I for one think it's a very thoughtful gift," Mrs. Foley interjected as she smiled at me and continued, "Truth be told we wanted to get Trish a used car when she turned sixteen but we couldn't afford it back then and that's why we're saving up for one so that when she turns 18 Trish can focus more on preparing for college and living on her own. Besides, we all have to come to terms with that eventually, that our children are growing up..."

"I suppose that's true, but still. I wish he would have at least told us about it," Maddie sighed and Jack just nodded, not really paying much attention to the conversation.

With a chuckle, I was about to respond when Samson's father interjected, "Well my son flat out refused to accept the car we bought for him last year. I swear, kids these days can be so ungrateful and it wasn't as though we gave him that many rules to follow..."

"That's right, we offered to pay for everything as well and Samson said he didn't want it! I can't even get him to wear anything aside from those dreadful goth clothes. Honestly, I do wish Sammy would-" Samson's mother was in the middle of lamenting her son's fashion choices when the person in question strolled over and frowned at us.

"You know I can hear you right? And maybe I wouldn't have minded the car if you didn't hire a driver to take me everywhere which defeats the purpose! Besides, do you have any idea how much pollution a single car puts into the atmosphere? That's why I asked for the scooter. And if I ever DO break down an get a car it'll be an ecofriendly one, not some fancy gas guzzler like that..." as he said this Samson briefly glanced at me before getting into a heated argument with his parents but I simply shrugged it off and excused myself.

It was about time for everyone to head home so I wanted to let Danielle know in secret when I would come to retrieve her for the rest of the festivities reserved for just the two of us. I still had a few more gifts to give Danielle in private, one of which she could use tonight, and I for one was eager to drop the formalities so we could focus on the most important thing. And that, of course, was Danielle's happiness.

I think this dinner went surprisingly well and in the end, I didn't have to overshadow anyone, though to be fair I suppose that's only because the others were trying to be considerate of Danielle after the horrors she's been through this year. Even without knowing the full story, being kidnapped by a ghost then losing her voice to one had to have been traumatic for someone her age so I'm glad they put their feelings about her parents aside to attend this party at my behest. As for Jack and Maddie themselves, well, it didn't take a genius to tell how guilty all this made them feel. And in a small petty way that was sort of the whole point...

In the end, this proved that they still didn't understand their daughter at all. And now that their son was about to leave for college it has suddenly become painfully obvious just how much of Danielle's life they've been missing out on. Before long she too will be leaving the nest, hopefully, to be with me in some form and then they really would have nothing but their ghost hunting gear and experiments. And who's to say if that's what they still want anymore?

To given them at least a little credit, since I knew deep down that they did care about her, for her sake I wanted them to treasure Danielle more and not take her presence for granted. Sadly I don't know Jason quite as well, but since he wants his sister to be happy and provided for too he's been trying to help them understand how she feels as well. That's why before heading home, Jason pulled me aside and asked me to promise that I would continue looking out for his little sister in his place while their parents were busy loading the other presents into the car. It was an easy promise to make since I had no intention of leaving her side any time soon.

That seemed to put his mind at ease so after hastily thanking me, Jason gave me a pat on the shoulder and then it was time for everyone to go their separate ways. Each of them thanked me for the wonderful party and I cordially accepted their thanks. But in truth, I knew that the festivities for the night were far from finished. And now that Danielle knew when I would be paying her a visit, it was time to make sure the after party so to speak went off without a hitch...

Sadly I couldn't keep Danielle up too long since she still had school in the morning but I looked forward to giving her the rest of the special gifts I've been saving that would be kept a secret just between us, such as the star. Either way, I smiled at Danielle fondly as she waved goodbye because we both knew there was still more to come.

And frankly, she wasn't the only one looking forward to it...

* * *

Danielle's POV

I'm glad Vlad gave me some time to recover after that amazing meal and the shock of getting a car as one of the 'surprises' because I was pretty tired when it was all over. I did take a short nap but if I'm being honest I still felt a bit tired. Still, I wasn't about to miss out on whatever else Vlad planned since he put so much love and effort into arranging all of it. Just thinking about it made me smile as I sat on the roof, waiting for him.

It's been so long since my birthday felt like a celebration at all so this was a welcome change of pace. Vlad was still totally spoiling me a bit more than planned but I tried to let it slide after seeing how overjoyed he looked seeing my reaction. I wanted him to be happy just as much as I wanted to be happy and that's what relationships are about right...?

So much has changed since I first met him more than half a year ago. Since then Vlad has become much more gentle, soft-spoken, and playful around me then he was in the beginning when his feelings for me were more like a new obsession to replace what he felt for my mother. Those feelings were intense, dark, and neither of us really understood them and as a result, Vlad made some very bad decisions. We couldn't change the past but I've long since forgiven him for a lot of it since Vlad was only trying to protect me.

It's not like Freakshow was innocent, but even now I believe he didn't deserve to die like that. Then there was the Banshee who will never be able to steal voices again after he damaged her ghost core beyond repair. They say the end justifies the means but I have to disagree. There were a million different ways Vlad could have handled both situations, and he just chose to do what he thought was necessary which ended up being much more sinister when his anger got the better of him.

That's why I'm so proud of Vlad for thinking of other ways to help me that don't involve much violence. And someday, maybe I could stop fighting ghosts myself once I knew everyone was safe. When that happened, maybe we could- "Ready to go my dear?" Vlad suddenly asked as he teleported in front of me while offering his hand and I jerked in surprise, losing my train of thought.

"Whoa! You almost gave me a heart attack," I laughed because by now I knew his ghost signature by heart so even though Vlad appeared too quickly for my ghost sense to go off I knew it was him.

Taking his hand and transforming without hesitation I nodded, told him I was ready, and paused to pick up the present he left a note on asking me to wait until later to open it so I assumed that meant it was meant for tonight, which means this must be a new dress. Smiling and pulling me close, Vlad teleported us back to his manor and led me to the usual room I stayed in when I spent the night here if I wasn't with him in his room. Once there he asked me to change and said he would be waiting right outside the door if I needed anything.

Kissing him on the cheek I immediately went inside to get dressed as soon as possible and opened the box to find a beautiful wine-colored dress nestled away inside with roses next to the sleeves which cut off at the shoulder. The skirt had a surprising amount of volume too for such a light fabric which was richly colored and slightly darker near the top and bottom of the dress. It came with a choker too. I'm surprised he didn't get me another blue dress but then again Vlad probably knew I wanted something a little different from the other dress that I wore to a school dance once as well as the reunion where we met. I wasn't especially girly and even liked dresses, but it was always good to have more than one just like for guys with their suits...

At any rate, thankfully the dress was easy to get into and very comfortable to move in so I didn't feel as nervous about dancing in as I thought I would be. If I was wearing this to a real party or something I would have worn makeup and maybe did something with my hair, but since it wasn't and I was just eager to spend some quality time alone with Vlad I did what I could to look presentable then reached for the doorknob. Vlad must have sensed me coming because he swept it open for me and I blinked a few times when I saw him wearing a purple suite and vest with a black tie and undershirt as opposed to his usual black suit and red neck tie.

Smiling, I stepped outside and teased, "Well, don't you look fancy this evening? Decided to add a little color into your life?"

"Oh, you mean this old thing? I just threw it on," Vlad teased back, closing the door behind me before lifting my hand and kissing it like I was some kind of princess, his eyes sparkling, "By the way, you look ravishing in that dress, my dear. I'm very pleased that I get to be the first person to see you in this. Originally I planned to give it to you later until I decided to give it do you along with the other gifts so that it wouldn't have to be kept a secret. That way you may wear it whenever you wish to for special occasions and the like. And since today is one such occasion, I was eager to see how it looked on you and I must say I am not disappointed."

"Thanks, Vlad, it's really beautiful. And honestly, I'm kinda surprised I look good in this color actually. You must have really put a lot of thought into this," I replied, wrapping my arm around his as Vlad began leading me to what was basically going to be our private ballroom for the next few hours.

Patting my hand with his free one, Vlad gazed at me softly and continued, "But of course, you are my one true love after all so you expected me to do anything less from me? Even though it took awhile to plan I wanted tonight to be perfect since I know how often things tend to go array at the worst of times in your life. And most importantly, when I was having these designed for you I wanted to make sure they compliment your natural beauty. No matter what anyone else tells you, you are a beautiful young woman and I truly am a lucky man to have you in my life, Danielle. I couldn't have asked for a better soulmate."

"I'm lucky to have you too," I sighed contently, leaning on his arm then snickering, "Who knew we would end up like this huh? When we first met you were quite the creeper but now look at you being a such gentleman? Guess I had a good influence on you after all."

"On the contrary my dear girl, I've always been a romantic at heart. To be fair I suppose some things have changed, however, let's just say I'm only on my best behavior around you. When I'm alone though..." trailing off Vlad gave me an evil smirk so I just rolled my eyes at him. I suppose I walked right into that one but since we were only teasing each other anyway it didn't really matter.

Speaking of walking in, when we made it to the ballroom it was decorated just like the dining room with blue velvet curtains and glass lanterns, even the piano was moved in here with a ghost pianist playing music without paying us any mind at all. The person playing it at dinner must have been human since this guy looked totally different. Even the music itself was calmer, almost tranquil and very romantic. Leading me inside by the hand Vlad practically glided over to them and whispered something in their ear and the pianist nodded and began an entirely different song.

I was so caught up in how beautiful the piece was when Vlad swept me off my feet into a twirl, asking joyfully, "Danielle, may I have this dance?"

"Seriously? Do you even have to ask?" I laughed, resting my left arm on his and tightening my grip in the other as Vlad effortlessly guided me into the waltz as if he already did know the answer I was going to give him about dancing.

As the song played we were so in sync with each other's movements it was almost dreamlike the way we moved. Vlad's warmth was so comforting and I knew he would never let me fall or stumble when a slightly faster song played. I was having so much fun it was like the world and my worries melted away until it was just us twirling around a sea of stars and gliding across the dance floor. At one point we actually did start gliding and I just let it happen, closing my eyes and swaying as Vlad held me close during a slow song...

I was so unbelievably happy that when we landed I almost didn't want it to end. I wanted to stay like this forever but unfortunately, time was rapidly getting away from us and I still had school the next day, not to mention I still needed to go out on patrol before bed. So with that in mind, Vlad graced me with one final dance before we slowed to a stop and almost automatically, he leaned down as I tilted my head up and we kissed. And just like the dance I wished it could last forever and sighed sadly when Vlad broke the kiss and pulled away, his expression still warm and loving as he reached into his vest pocket and handed me a small but intricate card and told me this was his final surprise for the evening.

Curious, I opened it up and saw a photograph of a star and read what he wrote on the other side, tearing up as I did, "To my dear Danielle, few things can compare to the radiance of your smile but to show you how brightly you shine in my life I decided to give you something from the very heavens that you can carry with you. This is your star, one that shines just for you the same way that you do in my life. And I wouldn't trade what we have for every star in the night sky because the only stars that truly matter, are the stars I see dancing in your eyes. Yours truly, Vlad Masters."

Holding the card limply in my hand I flung my arms around his neck and thanked Vlad with all my heart. As if the party and gifts weren't enough, Vlad did the most romantic thing ever and bought me a star! I've only heard of people doing that for anniversary gifts and stuff like that! I was just so grateful for all of this that it was a good thing I wasn't wearing any makeup because I started crying when his final gift just floored me...

Today had to be one of the best days of my life. I couldn't possibly ask for anything more than this, just having someone like Vlad giving me so much love and attention when it's like I've been denied it for so long for one reason or another just like he was. But now we had each other, and I could only hope that this year I could make his birthday just as memorable as Vlad made mine because I loved him just as much.


	39. Somnolent

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **It's been a while since I worked on this story so please bear with me if I forgot a few details. I tried working up updating Feral but couldn't get as into it as I'd hoped since the premise is slightly similar to a story I was working on on my other profile. Anyways, wish me luck getting back into gear with this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

_Chapter 39: Somnolent _

__(Chapter Inspired by "A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman___)_

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Danielle's POV

"Sorry Vlad, I didn't mean to get all emotional. I just felt so touched by all of this," I sniffled after finally pulling my arms away from Vlad and brushing a few stray tears out of my eyes. "I can't remember the last time I've had such a wonderful birthday. Thank you so much."

"Think nothing of it, I'm delighted to see how happily my gifts were received," Vlad smiled, reaching up and cupping my cheek gently, running his thumb across it with exaggerated slowness. "As you know it was so difficult to restrain myself since I wanted to give you so much more than this, I still do..."

I could see the longing shimmering in Vlad's eyes as his hand lingered on my cheek and a ripple of warmth spread from his touch. And honestly, he wasn't the only one struggling to keep their head on straight as our desire to be closer right now grew. Part of me wanted to stay with him tonight, damning the consequences, but I knew I'd kick myself for it later if I let Vlad tempt me into shirking my responsibilities.

"I know, and I wish I could stay but duty calls!" I beamed.

"At least I'm fully rested for once so maybe if there's time after I've finished my rounds..." resting my hand over his and taking a step closer so our bodies were almost flush against one another, I added sensually, "...I could come back here and-"

I abruptly cut myself off when something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. The velvet curtains should have been perfectly still but I saw them sway a little and there seemed to be more lights there than before. I probably only imagined it but my instincts were telling me something wasn't right. Vlad promised to keep his ghost employees away tonight, especially since my parents were here for dinner earlier. But the strangest part was when my ghost sense went off a second later, Vlad didn't react at all.

"Vlad? Did you feel that just now? There's another ghost in here with us. Are you... expecting anyone? I thought you told your ghostly underlings to keep their distance as usual tonight," I asked him in a calm reasonable tone since there was no point in overreacting just yet.

Still, it was a bit hard to keep my voice from cracking slightly while trying to push down the growing feeling of dread forming in the pit of my stomach from worrying that our wonderful evening was about to be ruined because I jinxed it by saying it was probably the best birthday of my life. But when I looked back up at him and noticed that his eyes were half-closed and oddly unfocused and glassy, like he was in a daze, serious warning bells started going off in my head as I shook him, trying to snap Vlad out of it.

"Hey! Snap out of it Vlad!" I yelled shaking him again, seriously considering slapping him if nothing else worked.

"Do not be alarmed, your lover is unharmed. I just needed him out of the way. You will be joining him shortly," an eloquent yet sleepy voice replied.

And before I could transform and whirl around to face him, a clawed hand materialized in front of me and a shimmering mist clouded my vision, making me super drowsy just like Vlad. After that, it slowly began to feel like I was stepping into a nice relaxing pool of warm water and was powerless to resist it as Vlad and I both sagged to the floor in each other's arms. I could hear him breathing softly so Vlad must have already fallen prey to whatever that ghost did to him. But why couldn't we sense them before?! What kind of ghost was I dealing with who could even catch Vlad by surprise...?

_Damn it...I knew it, I knew tonight was going too well and it was only a matter of time before something else went wrong like it always does, _I thought bitterly as my body betrayed me and refused to move an inch from that spot.

With what little strength I had left, I cracked one eye open again to see who our assailant was. All I could make out was a pair of glowing sleepy-eyes, like the kind you'd see on a drama mask, and a pair of horns that curled downwards. But the rest of him blended into the rest of the room, like he was a shadow made of the night sky...

After that I tried to open my mouth to demand to know who they were and what they wanted from us, but the last thing I remember before slipping under was, "I believe it is high time that I see for myself what power your dreams truly hold...and if it will be enough to prevent what is to come."

* * *

Vlad's POV

The following morning I awoke to the familiar and yet unexpected coolness of Danielle's skin brushing against mine as she curled up closer to me in bed and sighed contently in her sleep. How strange...did Danielle decide to skip her usual patrol around the city to make love with me after all? The last thing I remembered from the previous night was Danielle eluding to the idea of coming back after she finished capturing any stray ghosts for the night so we could enjoy our time together in a far more intimate way that just dancing.

Then my mind flashed back to our last heated kiss when we both gave into our desires and haphazardly removed everything we were wearing and teleported to my bedroom. It must have been intense indeed if even I was struggling to remember the details. Still, I suppose it doesn't matter, at least not to me since I'm sure Vallen could pick up the slack for Danielle just as I intended when I made him a ghost hunter in secret.

When I glanced over at the clock however I saw that while it was still early I knew I would need to wake her so Danielle could get ready for school before her parents realized she wasn't there. Not that they normally cared enough to check. Gazing at her sleeping face though I was sorely tempted to keep her here just this once after a bit of overshadowing to pretend she had stayed home sick from school today. It seemed like such a shame to make her go to school sore after a long night of-

_Hmm?_ I blinked when she shifted a little and a stray strand of hair fell across her face, _When did her hair start growing so long again?_

Pondering this I barely noticed when Danielle opened her eyes and smiled at me, idly wrapping her arms fully around my torso, "Good morning Vlad. Did you sleep well? I know I did..."

"Perhaps a little too well," I muttered to myself, sighing and propping myself up a bit more. "For some reason I'm having a difficult time remembering what happened last night."

Laughing softly Danielle propped herself up too and covered herself with the bed-sheets as she replied, "I'm not, you did drink a little more than usual during dinner last night. I think you said something about them only serving watered-down grape juice at the restaurant and practically threatened to shut the place down unless they served you a proper wine."

"Restaurant? Don't be silly Danielle, we ate here last night with your parents. That much I do remember. Your friends parents were there as well," I corrected, wondering if it was Danielle who was confused more than I was and didn't remember most of the dinner party.

"Aren't you a little young to be going senile?" Danielle teased, leaning forward to gently brush her lips against mine. "We haven't had dinner with my parents since my seventeenth birthday. If we could pry them away from their work long enough it would be nice to invite them again for old times sake. Sometimes I still can't believe you didn't have to overshadow them to get my parents to accept us..."

"Danielle, what are you-" reaching up with her hand to trace my lips with her fingers as she leaned in for another kiss my eyes widened as a glint of silver caught my eye and I realized Danielle was wearing a ring. More specifically...a wedding ring. Just what in the world was going on? Since when were we-!

"Danielle!" I exclaimed suddenly, startling her when I grabbed her shoulders and asked while barely containing the strangely hopeful tone that crept into my voice, "Are we married?!"

"Vlad, you're starting to scare me a little," Danielle admitted, calmly resting her hands on my shoulders as well before stating much more firmly, "Of course we're married! We've been married for ten years now! Alright Mr-Multi-Billionaire, that does it! From this moment on you're not allowed to drink at business meetings ever again! I don't care how well you can hold your drink thanks to our ghost powers I can't have you freaking me out with serious lapses of memory like this!"

Stunned I could only stare at her, dumbstruck. This didn't make any sense to me, how could we be married? Was this a dream? Or was I merely dreaming of some random moment in the past about a wonderful memory shared with my beloved? I was no longer sure, but the way Danielle was looking at me reminded me that I needed to sort this out so she would stop looking so concerned.

"Forgive me my dear, you're probably right. I didn't mean to worry you," I apologized meekly and we both sighed in relief at the same time.

"It's ok, and to be fair you haven't hit the bottle that hard in years so whoever those businessmen were they must've really pissed you off if you wanted to drink so much just to forget that they ever approached you with that stupid offer. I was hoping that once you got home having sex would cheer you up but I guess it was a mistake doing it while you were still pretty drunk. I'll try to remember that," Danielle nodded to herself, giving me one last serious look before climbing out of bed with the bedsheets trailing behind her like a wedding gown.

"Why don't you take a shower and I'll ask the chef to make breakfast for us? Maybe that will help you sober up." Smiling and not caring that she was still more or less naked underneath the thin fabric of the sheets, Danielle phased through the floor in what I assumed was the direction of the kitchen. I honestly couldn't tell anymore what was real and what was simply my imagination...

* * *

Observing Danielle much closer after taking a shower as suggested I noticed now how much older she looked, just like the gorgeous -and fully mature- woman I had always envisioned her becoming one day who would be the pinnacle of beauty and grace that FAR surpassed Maddie. She was still wearing her hair somewhat short compared to when we first met when it was long and ran down the length of her back, but now Danielle had settled for shoulder length hair she wore loosely and was cut to frame her face perfectly.

It wasn't long before I soon noticed a wedding ring of my own resting on the night stand once I had finished my shower and the weight of it felt alien to me but also right somehow. Danielle was here, where she was meant to be which was by my side and from what I could tell we were happy. Well, at least if you don't count the troubled expression she adopted earlier when I was having trouble remembering that we were married.

This was all I ever wanted. A loving wife, a family, and a life where I no longer felt like scheming or even the need to once I had everything Jack and Maddie stole from me. But, for everything they stole, they had also given me the one thing I needed most. They had given me their daughter's heart. And judging from what she said they gave us their blessing surprisingly easy. I could only assume it was the same for her brother...

I suppose it made sense given how Danielle was more than old enough to marry me despite our age difference, and when I looked into the bathroom mirror earlier it seemed as though I had hardly aged a day. If anything I looked younger since Danielle's love gave me so much joy and made me feel so young again. There is also my theory that our ghost powers had slowed the aging process, though it was anyone's guess if that would remain the case or if we were in fact immortal beings who were actually happy with the idea of being trapped in our twilight years.

Even so, part of me had this unshakable feeling that this was too good to be true. Something wasn't adding up here and until I found out what it was I would have to play along. And whether this Danielle was real or some twisted illusion, I didn't want to make her worry again. As always, her happiness was all that mattered in the end. Though, I would be lying if I didn't say I was enjoying the idea of Danielle finally being mine and mine alone now, and forever til death do us part...

But fortunately for us, that day may never come.


	40. Impertinence

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **I can really relate to this chapter since Danielle is upset everything went wrong at the last minute, so just to warn you this chapter gets a little angsty. Also, it's nice to see you again _"GiselleVera_!" Also, I'm going to finish up the dream in the next chapter so you'll have to wait and see what their possible future together is!

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Chapter 40: Impertinence

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Danielle's POV

When I opened my eyes, it was like I was inside some kind of super surreal version of Vlad's ballroom, at least at first glance. I could see small glimmers of light floating in midair and drifting lazily all around me like little fireflies, reminding me of the starry velvet curtains. But everything else was really dark and I could just barely make out subtle shades of deep blues or purple swirling in the air...

I felt like I had seen something like this before, in another dream, but honestly, I wasn't entirely sure. There were also these long sheer silk drapes hanging from the shadows above and I was lying comfortably on an incredibly soft pillow nestled in a cocoon-shaped hammock with wicker netting that made it look like the dried husk of one of some sort of plant. As far as I could tell I was alone otherwise which was definitely a good-news bad-news moment.

Bad for me, good for the ghost that did this because when I found him I was going to kick his spectral ass! At least it didn't seem like I was a prisoner here, but, where was Vlad...? And just who was that strange shadowy ghost? Everything happened so fast I barely had time to process anything but it was unnerving how neither of sensed him, not until it was way too late.

Pushing myself up and trying to orient myself on that plush pillow, I scowled when a figure detached itself from the rest of the dark blues, purples, and black all around me. It wasn't the ghost from before but she looked similar, at least from what I remember. Her only defining feature a pair of solid glowing eyes similar to that ghost from earlier.

She had long muted purple hair and dark purple-black skin, but thankfully she wasn't an actual shadow like he was. Lastly, she was dressed in a black gown that faded to a lavender hue from the pleats at her left hip that ended just before the sandals peeked out from under the skirt. It looked like she was some sort of Greek-style ghost.

Either way, after taking all that in I glared at her as she lazily floated up to me and commented airily, "It seems you were able to escape the dream we had woven for you before it even began through sheer force of will after all. I trust you slept well?"

"Dream? What the hell are you talking about?! Where am I?! What did you do to Vlad?" I demanded harshly, flying out of the hammock and charging my hands with ecto-energy, but she didn't seem phased by my hostility at all.

Pretty much ignoring my questions entirely, she turned around and gestured for me to follow with a slight tilt to her head before she finally replied, "Our master his waiting for you, he will tell you what you wish to know."

"Your master? And I'm supposed to know who that is?" I snapped, "Seriously what is wrong with you?! Why can't you ghosts just leave me alone for five minutes?! Can't I have one goddamn day to myself without one of you screwing it up for me?!"

"We do not interfere with human affairs under normal circumstances. However, you are anything but normal so our master made an exception...for you..." without another word, she vanished into a sparkling mist and it looked like I was on my own again. And maybe it was just my imagination but she sounded slightly annoyed about me being here at all.

Well, that made two of us!

I had no idea what was going on or why that ghost was being so cryptic but the sooner I found out the sooner I could find Vlad and get out of this hell hole. So after that, I fully transformed and flew off in the direction she pointed me in. After all my _'gracious'_ host was expecting me so according to her I shouldn't leave him waiting too long. I even had a present for them too...

And it was a knuckle sandwich!

* * *

It was annoying how everything looked the same so it felt like I hadn't moved at all until finally something different came into view. I gaped at the thousands of spider-thin threads dropping from the nothingness above that continued down under the black marble-like floor beneath me and small ripples of pulsing light passed through them. It was like one of those cool oil drip lamps, Sam has one in his room actually, only instead of oil these had brighter spots of pure light dripping down each and every thread at a sluggish pace...

The only reason I was able to see them at all is because there were so many of them and their light merged together to make a fine curtain of shimmering light since they were so fine, like spider webs. I noticed there was a gap between the threads where a strange harp-shaped device was floating and weaving some kind of fabric out of the threads. It looked like a piece cut right out of the night sky when it was done.

If I wasn't so pissed off I probably would have thought this place was strangely beautiful in its own way, but that was the furthest thing from my mind right now. Because in front of me stood a tall, shadow-like ghost with a pair of curled lavender-colored horns. And when I say he looked like a shadow I wasn't kidding, his entire body was pure black aside from those horns and his aura was sparkled with small star-like patterns swirling around the inky darkness.

I watched as one of his clawed hands swept gracefully over the treads being fed into the harp-thing from above and it glowed neon purple as they wove themselves into another sheet of fabric in only a few seconds. I was tempted to burn the stupid thing right out of his hand to get the ghost's attention when I suddenly shuttered involuntarily when I felt something...uncomfortably familiar about all this. Especially that cloth, it almost felt like it belonged to-

I jerked in surprise when as if reading my mind, the tall ghost turned around and explained out of the blue, "Ah, as suspected you can already sense the intended dreamer this is meant for can't you, ghost child? How amusing. Then again, all dreams are windows to the subconscious as you have already discovered on your own by sharing yours with him to communicate when you were temporarily mute as well as when dark magic warped your mind."

Closing his fist around the sheet of fabric, he chuckled humorlessly and added, "However, nightmares such as also serve an important purpose. Many of the nightmares I have woven have served as warnings as well as entertainment when there is little else that requires my attention, this one will be no different."

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD YOU ASSHOLE!" I screamed furiously, my eyes flashing brighter green than usual as I hurled an energy ball at his stupid, expressionless, sleepy-eyed face.

He narrowly dodged it so the blast hit his shoulder instead, but despite the massive hole I left in his body it soon knit back together good as new. This whole situation was bringing back bad memories, memories I wished I could forget so it was like he was tearing open old wounds. I was getting really sick of ghosts like him getting into my head like this, explaining my own thoughts to me and being all creepy and cryptic about our similarities! And this spectral creep went after Vlad to get to me, which is something I've always been afraid would happen one day despite how strong I know he is.

I should have...I should have been able to protect him! Hell, Vlad should have been able to protect himself just fine and noticed there was a ghost in the room sooner. But since he was so focused on making sure I enjoyed my birthday Vlad completely let down his guard. It's all my fault! I barely even knew this ghost but right now I hated him more than anything and wanted to beat him within an inch of his afterlife.

To make things worse, no matter how many times I attacked him with my energy attacks, it fused back together almost instantly so he must have crazy good regenerative powers. At least more than your average ghost. And he wasn't fighting back at all so it was like he was mocking me which pissed me off even more!

Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and was about to unleash my Dirge attack as a last-ditch effort to do some serious damage when he finally responded by warping over to me in a swirl of mist and clamping a clawed hand over my mouth. I struggled to free myself, but his hand was like a vice and if he wanted to he could have easily broken my jaw. It was then that I saw the first spark of serious emotion from him when his eyes turned red and looked more like the angry version drama mask, his aura flaring menacingly.

"Enough!" he ordered in a deep rumbling voice that shook me to my core. "I did not bring you here to harm you, but I will defend myself if you continue to lash out at me so violently. It may not seem so, but I am actually trying to help you, my child. It is not my nature to directly interfere with mortal affairs outside of what is required of me, but I have made an exception for you, dangerous as it is..."

Tightening his grip, he whispered coldly, "You do not yet realize just how alluring your ghostly aura is to us. Raw power such as yours that continues to grow without the need to steal it from other ghosts or some external source makes you a target for those who would covet it for their own ends. And if it wasn't for the necessity of that power in the events to come I would be sorely tempted to absorb it myself as punishment for your impertinence and because it is unlike anything I've felt before..."

Letting go of my face and holding his hands behind his back in a very Vlad-like manner as he drifted away from me, the ghost continued in a calmer voice, "It has been...vexing how difficult it is for me to delve further into your thoughts, your memories to find the right threads so I can properly see what your future holds. In fact, I was forced to draw upon my core energy to weave a dream powerful enough to contain Plasmius and pull you into a second dream here with me once it was clear you had resisted the previous one I had woven to test your-"

"I don't care about any of that! Just tell me what you want and let Vlad go! And who the hell are you anyway?" I snarled, not understanding a word he said since all I could think about was saving Vlad. But I resisted the urge to attack again because one, this ghost was unpredictable, and two if I did anything stupid he might threaten to hurt Vlad and there was no way I was going to let that happen.

"I am Nocturne, the Ghost of Sleep," he finally answered, "Together with my Dreamweavers, we shape the subconscious thoughts of mortals into dreams to help guide them when it is necessary. And in return, those dreams fuel our abilities, such as the power to either foresee future or gaze into the distant past left untouched by the unreliable folly of human memory. After all, memories fade with time or they can be easily manipulated through possession or the dark arts..."

I shuttered at the implied meaning but groaned, "And what does any of that have to do with me? I can't see the future! Trust me if I could I would have kept you from ruining my birthday! I swear to God, does EVERY single damn ghost in existence have some twisted obsession with me?! Most of you either want to pick a fight and kill me, steal powers I didn't even know I had, or are just...GRAH!"

My frustration was getting the better of me, it was painfully obvious even without his mind-reading. But Nocturne seriously struck a nerve by putting Vlad and me under some kind of sleep spell and then bringing up _'the dark arts'_ messing with my memories or at least eluding to it. I hated it. And worse, I didn't even know how long I've been trapped here and I felt angry and confused and honestly wasn't sure where any of this was going.

So he decided to finally tell me.

Picking up the thin sparkling fabric he had woven earlier from the floor where it had fallen at some point when I was attacking him, Nocturne began indifferently, "You hold the key to our salvation, ghost child, that is what I have foreseen but it will come at great cost if your soulmate does not abandon his ambitions to realize the possible future I have shown him in his dream. He needs to learn to hold what is already in his hands before reaching for more, or else he risks allowing it to slip between his fingers."

"As for my _'obsession'_ with you, I decided that revealing myself to you is for the sake of both our worlds since they too are intertwined. And if one falls, so shall the other," he explained, his tone suddenly very serious, "I cannot allow this. That is why I believe one final test is in order, just to be sure you are ready. You likely know that he has been keeping secrets from you, but this nightmare I hold in my hand contains the answer. But will you destroy it to spare him from suffering through it, robbing yourself of those answers, or will you allow it to play out...? We shall soon see. Farewell, ghost child..."

Before I could respond Nocturne vanished in a swirl of mist and the cloth in his hand fell for only a few seconds before there was a blinding flash of green fire and I gasped, bolting upright and looking around wildly. My gaze immediately turned to Vlad's sleeping face which was probably the most serene I've seen it in a while, I felt my stomach twist into knots because for whatever reason...

I knew deep down that Nocturne wasn't lying.

I've been trying to ignore my doubts, ignore my gut telling me he was up to something again, but part of me wanted to know what was so important to him that Vlad would keep it from me at this point. That being said, I also didn't want to make Vlad suffer through a bad nightmare just to find out what it was. So after that, I transformed again now that I was back in the real world and with a determined look on my face, I took a deep breath, and just like he did with me once before I overshadowed his dream. I just hoped I could wake him up without resorting to anything drastic, but knowing him...I probably would.


	41. Asseveration

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **I don't want to spoil what happens but warning, there's some sensitive content here in this chapter so don't get upset, it's just a story! I also have a special surprise in this chapter so I hope you guys like it! I was going to drag this dream out longer but kinda want to get to the actual climax of the story pretty soon so I'm speeding things along in this chapter. Sorry in advance if the transition is a bit sudden and or all over the place but I hope you'll wish me luck with the rest!

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Chapter 41: Asseveration

* * *

Vlad's POV

After finding myself married to Danielle for the past ten years, or so she claimed, I was torn between uncovering the truth and embracing the illusion of a domestic life with her. The later was surprisingly easy after I slipped into my usual routine after I finished in the shower, got dressed, and made my way to the study to see what was on the agenda for today. It also gave me the chance to see what else seemed more _'recent'_ according to my records.

Unfortunately before I could really delve into my system files to check them for inconsistencies, my ghost sense went off when Danielle phased through the floor, kissed my cheek, and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. "There you are, breakfast is ready. So...do you feel any better now?"

Leaning into her touch, I replied, "I'm sorry my dear, I suppose I was still half-asleep this morning. I'll be right down."

"That's a relief," Danielle sighed, letting go of my shoulders and landing on her feet since she had been floating too while embracing me.

"But you really have been working too hard so you're taking a break today Vlad. That's an order from your wife!" she scolded playfully before leaning forward to close my laptop, "I'm sure they can handle any problems that pop up without you for one day. And given how much you drank just to get through that last dinner meeting its obvious your nerves were a bit frazzled. Not that I blame you, even the richest man in the world has limits as far as dealing with people like that."

"I suppose you're right Danielle, yesterday is still a bit of a blur which isn't like me at all," I smiled back before adding silently to myself, _Besides, perhaps the answers I seek lie with Danielle herself since the last thing I remember is dancing with her and then...I woke up here._

"Then it's settled! Today you're staying home with me and Astra," Danielle beamed gesturing for me to follow. "Now come on slow-poke before breakfast gets cold!"

I blinked, _Astra? Who on earth could that be?_

Secretly eager to find out I followed Danielle down to the dining room where some freshly made omelets with thinly cut avocado slices covered in a light cheese sauce was waiting for us. And this would have been the perfect meal if I actually did have a hangover so I was touched by her thoughtfulness. It was quite delicious too.

We were nearly done with our meal when I suddenly felt something brush against my leg and then heard the sound of...purring? Leaning down to peek under the table I was quickly greeted by a beautiful white short-haired cat with one blue eye and one green eye that meowed at me expectantly and pawed my nose gently as if asking for my attention. Smiling I picked up the cat to set it on my lap and idly stroked their fur, waiting for Danielle to give me a hint to reveal if my suspicions were correct about the cat's name.

"See? Astra was worried about you too! Weren't you? Aw, she's such a good girl!" Danielle smiled affectionately leaning over to pet the cat as well.

Even though I suspected as much, I'll admit I was slightly disappointed. I was hoping that Astra was the name of our daughter or something to that effect. But there was still the chance we had a child or two with different names, that or perhaps my beloved wife was expecting, I just didn't have the heart to ask...

Thankfully I didn't have to when Danielle's tone grew serious as she took my other hand and sighed, "Vlad...I know what's really bothering you. Believe me I'm just as upset about it as you are, but that's just how it is. Trust me, I'm doing my best to come to terms with it too. And honestly, we're actually pretty lucky we haven't had any problems up until now given the fact that we're both half-ghost. I just don't want to see you push yourself too hard trying to fix something that's beyond even your control."

"What do you mean?" I asked, feigning innocence because for one thing I had no idea what she was referring to and for another I disagreed about anything being beyond my control.

"Vlad, we've been through a lot together and I love you dearly so I knew it was only a matter of time before, well-" she blushed, averting her gaze before continuing, "-well before we discussed adding another member to the family. I know you have your heart set on a son but we can always adopt one once things settle down and we're ready for a child, right? I'm just worried that all this research you're doing in the lab trying to make it safe for us to have our own children and burying yourself in your work is starting to seriously mess with your head.

"Then there's the launch of the new shuttle in a few days so I know it'll be a bit lonely for you here while I'm gone which probably worries you too. But I promise I'll be alright! After all, you designed most of the technology its made with so I'm sure it can handle anything!" Danielle smiled a bit sadly, stroking the top of my hand with her thumb, "So...what I'm trying to say is you don't have to worry about me. I'm perfectly happy with the way things are now and its alright if...if I can't have children. I just want to be with you as much as possible right now before the test flight."

_Oh Danielle..._I thought sympathetically, withdrawing my hand long enough to set down the cat before pulling her into my arms._ I was afraid of this but wanted to hope for the best since we're genetically compatible too. But I didn't think about our future that far in advance because it was challenging enough just to be with you since we had to keep it a secret from everyone. I'm sure there are still people who disapprove of our relationship even now but you're all the matters to me. True, I would like a son, but not at your expense if it endangers your life..._

"A-anyway, now that we're done with breakfast I guess you have a few calls to make so I'll see you in a bit. I think Astra wants her breakfast now too, don't you sweetie?" Danielle said a bit too quickly to excuse herself after I let go and she picked up the cat, carrying her towards the kitchen.

I felt guilty for bringing up these painful memories since Danielle was disappointed by all this too and lonely since I've been so busy so I promised I would do my best to make it up to her. Personally, I was still unsure about whether or not this was a dream but for now it still seemed all too real so all I could do was continue to play along. At least until I woke up, or until Danielle left for her test flight.

* * *

The next few days were spent at home enjoying a life of domestic bliss with Danielle and our darling cat Astra. While we were enjoying a movie together Danielle even told me that I had once seriously considered naming Astra _'Maddie'_ as a joke when we first adopted her. But in the end we agree that it would have been too awkward to name our pet after my former college crush and her mother. However, with her impending departure coming up Danielle had to excuse herself a few times to make sure everything was ready for the launch.

Speaking of which, I was very happy to hear that Danielle had given in to my request of allowing me to take care of her college expenses and blood test requirements after she graduated high school when she decided to become an astronaut after all. It would appear that Danielle finished college shortly before we were married and as luck would have it, the space program she was in used technology developed in Axion Labs so I knew it was top of the line. That didn't stop me from feeling lonely when I realized it was nearly time for the test launch of the new shuttle. She would only be spending a week in space on it, but still it just wouldn't be the same here without her...

Speaking of which, I was on my way to talk to her before the limo arrived to take us to the space center when my ghost sense went off and I heard a loud crash down in the lab. Alarmed, I transformed and teleported straight to the lab only to find Danielle locked in combat with...herself? _What in the world?_

"Wait wait wait! I'm not a doppelganger! I'm you! Or well, it's more like you're just another version of me that's not me because this is just a dream showing a glimpse of our future with Vlad! So would you stop freaking out and listen to me? I'm trying to protect him before Nocturne's nightmare-!?" the younger Danielle pleaded but the older one seemed unconvinced.

"You have two seconds to explain yourself before I send you back where you came from because I've been down this road before, you're not fooling anyone!" I blinked in surprise seeing how angry and defensive the older Danielle sounded but I could also feel a sense of true desperation from the younger version so it was entirely possible they were BOTH real.

Also...that name, Nocturne, why did it sound so familiar...?

All of a sudden, my ears started ringing and it felt like I was on the verge of remembering something important. But what? Which Danielle was real? And who should I be defending? Before long the ringing gave way to lightheadedness and since I teleported here invisibly to keep the element of surprise out of habit, neither of them noticed me as I collapsed against the wall, trying to shake off this feeling.

Meanwhile, frowning, the younger Danielle sighed, "Geez, if you really are my future self you really need to take a chill pill. I thought Vlad promised to help fix the ghost problem so we would stop feeling so on edge but clearly you're still ready to snap into battle-mode at the drop of a hat like I trained myself to be just to survive. Or is it that you're seriously trying to keep him trapped here in this dream world?"

"Look, I get it," Danielle continued, lowering her arms and dispelling her ecto-energy to try and convince her older self she wasn't a threat, "I...sometimes I dream about the kind of life we might have together someday too and don't want to wake up to face reality either. But this isn't right! And it's not fair to him either so please! Help me wake him up before Vlad's dream turns into a nightmare! He's saved me from so many of my own so I don't care if he's hiding something from me, I won't let him suffer through something like that when Vlad's-"

"You're calling this a nightmare?" the older Danielle snapped, "How dare you! We're finally happy together, so if you really are me isn't that enough?! Don't you want to finally be happy? Especially after everything we've been through? After everything Vlad sacrificed for us...? I'm not going to let my past drag him down and force him to go back into that lonely place so you can forget about waking him up!"

Wincing, I sensed a sharp sudden change in the older Danielle as the world around us began to warp and darken around us. But to be fair it also felt like my skull was on fire and it was difficult to think let alone stay standing. I genuinely didn't know who to believe, or what to believe, but one thing is for sure...real or not I refused to let Danielle fight herself. I understand fighting your inner demons but this girl, she was clearly trying to help so I didn't understand why my wife-!

Seconds later the younger Danielle was blasted back by an...ice beam that pinned her in place when it froze her body from the waist down. I was stunned because while I suspected Danielle had an ice core I never expected to see her actually using ice-infused ecto-energy, then again we have probably been training together for years, right? Or we planned to? I-

As conflicting memories rushed through my mind of the past and what I was no longer sure about being the present, the two Danielle's were locked in battle and I saw flashes of ice and ecto-energy that in my eyes almost looked like familiar green flames. I saw the silhouettes of three objects soon after, a crown, a ring, and a sword for a split second as well and it all came rushing back to me. My plans to dethrone the Ghost King, to recruit the Fright Knight and restore his status as the 4th Horseman of the Apocalypse, the horseman of War...or perhaps Conquest if I actually had the two mixed up, and how I had given Danielle the Ring of Rage both for her protection by giving her a much-needed power boost and the perfect lure for my target...Pariah Dark.

_Of course, why didn't I see it before? This isn't real. Or at the very least its not...current. But I don't understand, am I imagining all this or is it a vision of our future together like Danielle claims...? Wait-_ My eyes snapping open, I was horrified to see that while I was paralyzed by pain and confusing revelations, the older Danielle had pinned her younger self to the floor and had both her hands around the teenager's throat, staring down at the poor struggling girl with a blind fury in her eyes that were glowing an eerie red just like when she was controlled by Freakshow's blood magic. Even her hair had burst into white flames like back then as well when he created his new staff and had full control of Danielle's mind.

"DANIELLE NO! STOP!" I shouted, charging my hands with ecto-energy to separate the two before my wife...before the other Danielle did something I knew she'd regret.

"V-Vlad," the real Danielle gasped just as her older self turned sharply to face me reaching up with one hand to block my attack and that's when I saw that her wedding ring had transformed into the Ring of Rage and it all made sense...

This Danielle had gone mad with power and she couldn't control herself! We had to get it off of her, quickly! And more importantly I couldn't let her hurt my Danielle now that I realized she had overshadowed my dream just like I had previously done to hers back when her voice was stolen by the Banshee.

Thankfully, I had given her the distraction she needed and my Danielle inhaled deeply as soon as the pressure on her throat loosened to unleash her Final Dirge attack as she calls it. The effects were immediate when the power-mad version of herself crashed into the roof and was pinned there by the force alone that began forming cracks all around her. My Danielle was also pinned down by the force and couldn't stand up to strengthen her stance so her back dug into the floor a bit as well.

As for me, all I could do was cover my ears and wait it out until my Danielle exhausted herself and-!?

_I warned you, you cannot have both..._ I heard a voice say directly into my mind as yet another nightmarish apparition appeared behind me in the form of a shadowy ghost and gripping my arms with enough force to make it feel as though my bones were about to snap. _Eventually, if you continue on this path you will be forced to choose between the one you love and the power you wish to claim in order to dominate all other ghosts who would challenge you or harm her._

_And should you hold onto her too tightly, your overwhelming strength will crush her just like this. You may even have to destroy the one you love to save her from this madness. Because unlike you, she is not driven by the desire for power...but frustration at her powerlessness to help you in turn, rage, and her fear of losing what little she has which makes her susceptible to the power of the ring you gave her when it is not paired with the Crown of Fire to redirect and focus that endless power. Reach for too much, and you risk losing what you already have..._

Feeling my own aura flare, I whirled around to shoot this mystery ghost I could only assume was this _'Nocturne'_ Danielle was referring to with rays from my eyes, but before I could they abruptly let go of me just as the strength of Danielle's Final Dirge diminished and she stopped to catch her breath. She winced and tried to sit up but then, her eyes widened in alarm when her transformation rings appeared and Danielle began changing back to human form. This was alarming because we both had no idea what would happen to her if she turned into a human again while inside my dream but the fear of anything happening to her was too much and I shouted-

"DANIELLLLE!" and much to my relief, that fear provided enough of a jolt to my system to force her out of my dream just in time the instant I woke up.

She was in ghost form when it happened but turned back to her human form seconds later, her shoulders shaking as Danielle struggled to catch her breath and recover from the shock. As such I wasted no time rushing to her side, wrapping my arms around her, and trying to wrap my mind around what happened while berating myself for letting it on such an important night for her. How could I have been so careless!?

And more importantly...just how much did this _'Nocturne'_ reveal to her about my plans in that nightmare she tried to rescue me from? Did we escape from it in time before Danielle learned anything that might ruin my plans? Or was I going to have to make Danielle forget about everything we just went through? Because if anything, while this proved that my plans had flaws, it also showed me that Danielle still wasn't safe from the influence of other ghosts whether they were trying to help...

...or hostile.


	42. Backlash

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: Warning, more colorful swearing ahead, mildly disturbing scenes of aggressive advances, and other sensitive subjects!** And to _"GiselleVera," _thanks for worrying about me. We're doing our best to stay safe during these crazy times too. I wanted to update the story sooner but things have been...intense at home the past few days so tensions are high. So you know, what better way to vent then writing angsty drama that has nothing to do with it right? Anyways I hope you're doing alright too and the same goes for all of you lovely readers! Stay safe!

**P.S. **I couldn't sleep last night and had a long day so here's an extra angsty chapter for you guys to speed things along and bring in another key player in what's to come...stay tuned!

* * *

Chapter 42: Backlash

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Danielle's POV

I can't even begin to put into words how upset, hurt, confused, and angry I felt about this whole situation. I mean I genuinely didn't want Vlad to suffer through whatever nightmare Nocturne had sent his way, but who's to say it ever actually made it to Vlad? What if that dream I saw was something he came up with himself? Or what if this was all a trick Nocturne came up with just to prove a point and get back at me for being snippy when he tried to warn me about whatever Vlad was hiding from me...?

That would explain some of the things I saw while fighting my possible future self in his dream. It was hard enough fighting against myself since she had new powers I'd never seen before, and honestly I probably only beat her since I caught her by surprise, but seeing flashes of memories or visions that Vlad was seeing was jarring too. I had no idea what it meant but one thing is for sure, even if I didn't let the nightmare play out Vlad owed me some answers!

That's why, once I caught my breath again after being forced back to reality when I scared him awake, I didn't care how worried Vlad was I straight up slapped him as hard as I could and shoved him away. Then I yelled, "Vlad, how could you do this to me? I thought you had given up on your schemes but I guess I was wrong since Nocturne went out of his way to sent us to dreamland just to warn me that you're planning something big behind my back that could put everyone in danger! So, what do you have to say for yourself?!"

Still rubbing his cheek and reorienting himself after spending who knows how long dreaming about being married to me in the future, Vlad replied bluntly, "Danielle you're being overly dramatic. Did it ever occur to you that this ghost might be lying to turn you against me? How do you know you can trust him after what he just did to us?"

"Don't dodge the question Vlad because I am NOT in the mood. All I wanted was to enjoy my fucking birthday for once in my life without something screwing it up but I forgot, I'm not allowed to be happy, am I? So whatever you're planning behind my back, just give it up or else I'm never talking to you ever again," I threatened, crossing my arms.

That's when I suddenly realized I was back in human form which meant I was wearing the dress he gave me to dance in so I probably didn't look intimidating at all. And right now wearing this thing felt, well, I basically felt just as disgusted by his trickery as the first time we met so I wished I was wearing literally anything else right now. Also, I had to admit that Vlad wasn't wrong, there WAS a chance that Nocturne was lying, but to me it seemed like a waste of energy to lie after weaving those dreams to trap us in just to talk to me directly.

So something told me Nocturne wasn't lying. To be honest I've had this bad feeling for a while now that Vlad was up to more than he let on and now I knew why. It's because he WAS up to something and it wasn't just putting together a band of ghost hunters to ease my workload, it was something bigger...something dangerous. But what I didn't understand was why? Why would Vlad go behind my back like this if he's only trying to help me...?

"Well? Are you going to say anything or not jackass?!" I snapped, changing back to my ghost form just to get out of that stupid dress since it made me feel ridiculous while trying to confront Vlad.

Almost instantly I felt an unpleasant shutter ripple up my spine when Vlad lowered his hand from his cheek and looked at me darkly as if debating on whether or not to teach me a lesson which honestly hurt more than if he had slapped me back. He was angry, I could feel it, but Vlad was also scared which I wasn't expecting...

What did he have to be scared of? I thought Vlad believed in me, believed in my strength as a ghost-fighting superhero, so was I wrong? Did Vlad still think I was too weak to hold my own to handle it?

"I think you need to leave," Vlad replied coldly, turning his back to me.

"What...?" I asked, taken aback by his sudden change of attitude.

"Nothing good will come of trying to discuss this while you're this upset," he explained dryly, "And I...have some thinking to do. I know you overshadowed my dream to save me, but if that dream was truly a vision of our life together then I'm not going to risk erasing it by getting into a petty argument. So to answer your question, no, I am not going to try explaining myself to an emotional child," After that, Vlad started walking away but that just made it worse!

He was ignoring the problem and talking down to me so I flew over to him, grabbed his collar, and snarled, "No, you don't get to walk away from me this time! You owe me an explanation Vlad and I'm not leaving until I get one, that's final! I forgave you for what you did to Freakshow, but this is different. Back then I was in over my head and couldn't protect myself which is why I relied on you so much but if this is another scheme to scare off my enemies I can do it myself! So knock it off!

"Besides, where's a reason I know Nocturne isn't lying. It's because for one thing, I recognized the sword and the ring I saw in one of those visions while we were inside of your dream. It's the Soulshredder I stole from the Fright Knight once hoping it would help me gain an edge on the competition when I tried to make a cooler haunted house than Diana last Halloween. And that ring...is the Ring of Rage which is something YOU gave to me! So if you're lying about what it actually does you'd better tell me right now what this is all about, or else!"

"Or else what?" Vlad retorted harshly, transforming into his ghost half too and grabbing my wrists sharply, yanking me towards him. "Everything I've done is to protect you and this time is no different! Why are you suddenly questioning my intentions because of something ONE ghost said to you in a dream?! Don't you trust me Danielle?! Don't you know how much I love you and how afraid I am that one day you'll face a ghost too powerful to defeat on your own and I'll get a call from your parents tearfully telling me their daughter is DEAD!?"

"Vlad, let go of me! That hurts!" I complained, twisting my wrists to get free and trying to go intangible but he did the exact same thing to keep me from slipping out of his grasp.

"No, you're not going anywhere my dear. I'm not going to lose you now because some ghost decided to interfere with my plans! I won't let him take you away from me!" Vlad bellowed and the next thing I knew he created a duplicate and it flew inside of me.

And unlike before when I felt perfectly safe around Vlad, right now he was acting like an enemy, or worse, like the man I met at the reunion almost a year ago. So I instinctively rejected his presence with every fiber of my being. I thrashed and twisted in his grasp, trying to force the duplicate out of my body when suddenly a similar memory flashed in my mind of Vlad saying something unsettling before my mind went blissfully blank.

I couldn't remember anything we talked about moments before and that was terrifying. But what made it worse was that I knew what it meant. It meant Vlad had overshadowed me before to make me forget and he was trying to do the same thing right now to cover his tracks! Is that what Nocturne was hinting at before? About memories being altered...?

"NO! Stop it Vlad! G-get...out...of...MEEEEE!" Inhaling deeply I was about to use my Final Dirge on Vlad as a last resort just to get him to back off when the second his duplicate finally left my body, leaving me reeling, Vlad's lips came crashing onto mine to silence me and my attack was cut off.

Then I felt the dizzying sensation of Vlad teleporting us and suddenly found myself pinned to his bed, his lips dominating mine even when his fangs cut his lower lip and mine and we could taste a mixture of ectoplasmic blood in our mouths. I tried everything to get out from under him, even using some of those self-defense moves against sexual molesters, but the thing is, that only works against humans. Unfortunately for me Vlad is the only other half-ghost in the world, and when he put his mind to it Vlad was still stronger and smarter than me in a lot of ways...

_This can't be happening! Please tell me we're still trapped in a nightmare and I'll wake up any second now because the Vlad I love wouldn't do this! I know he wouldn't!_ I thought to myself as Vlad bound my hands with ecto-energy ropes to the bedpost while the duplicate from before held my ankles and Vlad tore off his cape and began unzipping my hazmat suit with angry jerky movements.

Normally, even though his eyes were solid red I could read Vlad's expressions like an open book but right now it was blank and his movements were cold and calculating. It was like something had snapped inside of him and Vlad was following his instincts to dominate me into submission. This was a side of him I'd seen before but never like this...

And when Vlad finally spoke to me again, his words were hollow, resigned, and pained as he explained, "Fine, if I can't overshadow you I have other ways to make you forget..."

"Vlad, please stop," I ordered with as much confidence as I could muster given the compromising position I was in since he had unzipped my hazmat suit down past my navel so my undergarments were exposed through the gap between it and my bare skin.

"This isn't you. I know it's not just like you knew it wasn't really me when Freakshow was making me act strange with his blood magic," trying to appeal to his good nature I continued, "Look, I know you're scared of losing me...but you have to believe I'm strong enough to take care of myself Vlad! Because I thought you were the only person in this fucking world who did!"

Despite myself, my last statement opened the floodgates and I sobbed helplessly, "I told you before that you don't have to give me the world on a silver platter Vlad. You don't have to do anything special to prove anything to me or to anyone else because I already love you and accepted every side of you! Even this one! _Just being by your side is enough for me!_

"But Nocturne is right, you shouldn't be messing with forces that even you don't understand when things are fine as they are now. I already know how much you love me and know you'd never try to rape me so please Vlad! Let me go before I start hating you again just like before. Please!" And just like that, I felt the restraints on my hands and feet vanish and I covered my eyes with my arms but they couldn't hold back the torrent of tears that stained my cheeks...

I knew from the beginning Vlad could be scary when he got mad, but this was the first time that anger had been directed towards me on purpose. I couldn't believe this was happening even though I fought my hardest to save him from that nightmare because I wanted to hear the answers to my questions from Vlad himself BECAUSE I trusted him. He was right about the fact that I didn't want some ghost to show the answers to me through a nightmare!

I wanted to give Vlad a chance to come clean, but I didn't expect him to try to force me to forget about all of this after catching him in a lie! But this, what Vlad almost did to me just now, THAT was the real nightmare. In fact, it was my worse nightmare...

And that's when, for the first time, I felt genuinely afraid of Vlad.

I'm sure he could sense my feelings too because that's also when Vlad completely stopped responding and stepped away from me, his eyes inhumanly wide when it finally hit him that he almost forced himself onto me. All Vlad could do was shake his head before he staggered against the nearest wall, abruptly changing back to his human form.

After that, I didn't even give him a chance to choke out an apology before I rolled over, wrapped my arms around myself to cover up, phased straight through the roof of his mansion and flew as fast and hard as I could to put as much distance between us as possible. I was half-blinded by tears and had no idea where I was going but one thing is for sure. I had to get out of there. I had to get away from Vlad and figure this out because...can loving someone really justify doing something this cruel...?

* * *

Vallen's POV

It was unusually quiet tonight, but for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. I managed to snag a few ghosts and send them running but I hadn't seen any sign of the ghost girl all night which seemed a bit odd. Normally I'd see her EVERYWHERE or at last once or twice while I was out on patrol in the distance. It just seemed unlike Phantom to shirk her so-called duty to protect the town from other ghosts.

Either way, with her out of the way it made things a lot easier for me since I didn't have to worry so much about avoiding Phantom. I had more important things to worry about anyway than poking fun at Phantom and showing off the fact that I was the better ghost hunter, at least in my opinion. I totally had the hang of my new battlesuit and hoverboard now so if I felt like it, I could easily catch up with that ghost chick midflight and gun her down-

Not that I would have any reason to until she showed her true colors.

Shrugging, I activated my sensors to see if I could detect any other ghosts before turning in for the night when it picked up a faint reading off to my left. Knowing better than to ignore it since taking care of it would save me trouble later, I reactivated my helmet and sped off in that direction. It was pretty dark out tonight so even with my night-vision mode active I could only see so far ahead of me, but when a shadowy shape broke through the rest of the darkness I wasted no time going after it.

I chased it for about half-an-hour before it dawned on me that it was probably just leading me in circles to tire me out since unlike ghosts I still needed to catch my breath and sleep. That's when I realized I had to cut it off pretty soon if I wanted to get any sleep tonight after making sure Amity Park was safe since the ghost girl was apparently slacking off somewhere so there were more of these ectoplasmic assholes lurking around town. So after figuratively switching gears, I tried to pinpoint the ghost's current location and slowed down to try and sneak up on it since it wasn't moving. Maybe it thought it had given me the slip and was gloating to itself.

Well it wouldn't be doing that for much longer!

Smirking when I was nearly on top of it, I activated my ray gun, ready to take it out and whispered, "I've got you now you sneaky bastard. I'll make it quick!"

Taking aim I was about to shoot when something suddenly crashed into me and I nearly fell off my board. Recovering my balance and whirling around since I figured the ghost was trying to launch a sneak attack with a duplicate or something, I snarled, "Oh please you're going to have to do better than...that..."

I trailed off and my mind went completely blank when I saw which ghost was in front of me. Because while she was definitely a ghost, I knew this wasn't the one I was aiming for. The one I saw was taller, thinner, and looked like it had horns which clearly she didn't...

A million things were going through my mind as I stared at none other than Dani Phantom herself. She was floating right in front of me with her arms wrapped around herself and when I took a closer look I could see her ghostly glow reflecting off a trail of tears that were still rolling down her cheeks. I was stunned because for one thing, I hadn't been this close to her since the whole ghost-dog thing, and for another...

...what would a ghost have to cry about besides being dead?

But then I blushed deep red when I saw exactly WHY she was covering her midriff with her arms. I've heard enough stories to know what someone who has nearly been sexually assaulted looks like. And in my mind not even a ghost deserved that. For all I know...I bet there were ghosts who were once normal people who've been- well, you get the picture.

Either way, this was the first time I'd seen Dani Phantom look so upset, lost, and scared. It just wasn't like her at all since the ghost girl I knew was smug as hell and always slinging insults and making puns at her enemies when I was close enough to actually hear some of them.

So whatever happened to her tonight must've seriously freaked even Dani Phantom out. And even though we weren't exactly friends or allies, I couldn't just leave her like this. I could take it easy on her just this once...

"Hey, are you...ok?" I tried asking her calmly, not sure what else to do besides deactivate my gun and raise my hands to show that my hands were empty. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you see?"

Shaking her head, Dani Phantom whimpered began floating backward, her toxic green eyes flitting from side to side searching for an escape route just like a cornered animal would if it was injured. "This...this really is the worse day ever. First the guy I trusted most lied to my face and then he tried to...to..."

Unable to put it into words the ghost girl broke down in tears again and curled in on herself, almost like she didn't even care I was there anymore or might be lying and planned to shoot her down on the spot. It was heartbreaking to watch which is weird since I didn't exactly have the most pleasant memories of meeting this ghost. And I honestly don't know what possessed me to do it since it was probably incredibly stupid of me, but while Phantom was too emotional to notice me as I hovered closer to her, I gently put my hands on her shoulders to give her some emotional support. Then I felt her body jolt sharply and then her head snapped up to look right at me, our eyes meeting directly for the first time in months...

There was something eerily familiar about those eyes even though they were green but I ignored the feeling. I had no idea what came over me since I didn't owe this ghost anything, but regardless I opened my mouth and said offhandedly when I finally forced myself to look away, "L-listen, I don't know what happened to you but it's going to be ok. I might not be your biggest fan, but if you want I'll kick the shit out of whatever ghost did this to you, no strings attached so just point me in their direction. Wait, hang on, its probably hard for you to hear me with my helmet on..."

Deactivating my helmet again against my better judgment and shaking the hair out my eyes I tried to crack a smile and continued, "There we go, maybe now you can hear me better. Hey? What's with that look? Isn't it kinda weird for a ghost to look like they've seen a ghost?"

I was trying to make a joke to cheer her up without thinking just like Dani does, but when Phantom saw my face it was like what little color her face had as a ghost suddenly drained and she whispered in a small anxious voice, "Vallen...?"

"Wait, how do you know my-" I demanded, thinking that this might have been a trap after all, when out of nowhere she suddenly flung her arms around me and cried even harder than before for some reason.

"What the hell! What're you doing? Let go!" I exclaimed, blushing again when it occurred to me that her battle suit was still unzipped and her partially naked body was brushing against mine. But it was no use trying to talk to her since Phantom was clinging onto me for dear life and was completely hysterical now.

_God damn it! What am I supposed to do now?! Look I don't care how cute she is, this girl is nothing but a ghost and I am NOT supposed to feel embarrassed by something like this let alone even remotely attracted to her! What is WRONG with me?_ I groaned silently to myself, still trying to peel her arms off of me.

When she didn't ease up her grip at all and buried her face in the crook of my shoulder I guess my sense of chivalry got the better of me since I hated seeing a girl cry so regardless of whether she was a ghost or not, I gently patted her back to comfort Phantom as her entire body convulsed and she continued to cry her eyes out.

Scanning the area around us for that other ghost which had long since escaped, I figured this was another problem I should probably deal with before heading home and groaned again, "Ugh, fine, have it your way. I guess I'd better land somewhere to give you time to calm down enough since I can't just leave you out here by yourself while you're like this. If I did you'd be easy prey for some other ghost. And that would just take the fun out of it since I'm the only one allowed to put you in your place if you ever went rogue."

_More importantly,_ I added to myself with a troubled frown, _I need to find out what happened to her and ask how the actual hell she knew my first name..._


	43. Anguish

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: Warning, more colorful swearing, depression, and sexy scenes ahead! **Sorry this chapter took so long, had a lot going on dealing with my own brand of angst, but things have settled down now. Anyways it's time to ramp things up in this story now that Vlad has really effed up and pushed Danielle away. Will she recover from the heartbreak? Can Vallen handle trying to comfort a ghost-girl he doesn't entirely trust but at least doesn't see as an enemy? Lets find out together!

* * *

Chapter 43: Anguish

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Vallen's POV

Eventually, I wound up awkwardly holding the ghost-girl against my side as I flew over to the park since I knew it'd be clear of ghosts and other people for sure this late at night, especially since it was one of the first places I patrolled tonight. And Phantom didn't resist either, she just kept her face buried in my chest and kept inhaling sharply between sobs. It was beyond weird seeing a ghost have to catch their breath like this just like any other human, and even her tears were warm as they stained my battlesuit. But like I said before I hated seeing a girl like this so it went against my nature to turn my back on Phantom this time and calling it a night.

By the time I found a good place to land and dismissed my hoverboard Phantom was still leaning heavily against me, inhaling short unsteady breaths before finally taking a step back from me and I quickly had to look away while she reached down to zip her suit back up. My cheeks were still burning because I couldn't believe I had held onto a half-naked ghost this entire time while searching for a good spot to settle down and try talking to her. And for some reason I felt oddly cold now that I wasn't holding her close which was odd so I shook my head, trying to get my mind out of the gutter.

"I'm...I'm sorry you had to see me like this," Phantom said weakly, sniffling softly. "I couldn't see where I was going and-"

"Forget it," I cut her off a bit more harshly then I meant to because when I looked back at Phantom's face she looked hurt by those two simple words so I added hastily, "It's no big deal really. I was already almost done with my patrol when you crashed into me so you can make it up to me by doing your job and catching the ghost that escaped because of you. Then we'll call it even. Sound fair?"

Giving me a small nod Phantom glanced around as if suddenly realizing where we would and asked just to be sure, "This is...the park, isn't it? Why did you decide to bring me here?"

"Well, it wasn't like I could take you home like THAT!" I exclaimed in embarrassment, blushing again, "And besides its common sense when a girl's been, well, unwillingly hit on by some pushy asshole it's best to take them somewhere public and call for help in case they're still after you. But I can't exactly do that for a ghost. What I can do is find out who did this and make them regret it. I mean, I might not like you all that much but I guess you do try helping people after all so maybe it's time someone helped you for a change right?"

I instantly regretted blurting all that out when I saw the tears well up in her eyes again and Phantom whimpered, "Thank you Vallen, I just...I don't know what to do. There's someone I care about very deeply but he lied to me when he promised not to and I know he's afraid of losing me after what he's been through but-what he did tonight..."

Hugging herself again she choked, "I've never felt so humiliated! I genuinely thought he believed in me, in my skills as a ghost hunter, but instead, he took matters into his own hands and I had to find out through someone else that he was planning something big behind my back this whole time! It's like he doesn't care about my feelings at all anymore and just does whatever the fuck he wants just like everyone else around me! And yet somehow I'M the selfish one!"

"Whoa, whoa calm down," I insisted, trying to keep my voice level and soft to help her calm down since I could tell she was getting agitated now so my suit started beeping as an alarm went off because of her high energy readings. "So let me get this straight, the ghost that did this to you...was one that you trusted and he showed you an ugly side of himself?"

Phantom nodded, probably mostly talking to herself when she said, "I knew he had his issues, but this is the first time he's acted this scary. I love him so much but it hurts...it hurts to love someone that could do something like this to me..."

_Shit, I am really not the right person to be talking to about this! Especially since I keep feeling...like I want to comfort her right now but she's a ghost that from the sounds of it was almost raped by someone she trusts so I shouldn't touch her again. What should I do?_ I wondered to myself, feeling totally at a loss for words.

I mean what could I say when I didn't even know the guy and frankly think most ghosts are bastards anyway? But Phantom, right now she seemed so human, and she was hurting so what else could I do for her that I wasn't doing already? How could I make her feel better if she didn't want me to hurt this ghost after all? Well, I guess we could keep trying to talk it out so she could figure out the rest on her own.

Heaving a heavy sigh, I took her by the hand as softly as possible so she didn't see it as a threat and led her over to a clearing hidden behind some bushes and trees. I know there wasn't any chance of someone stumbling across us but still, for some reason, I felt like we were a little too exposed and if that ghost DID show up looking for Phantom and I saw her cry again, well, I might not be able to hold back.

It wasn't like Phantom was my friend or anything but she seemed like a nice enough ghost up close so the idea of anyone betraying her like this really pissed me off. I felt like I had to defend her honor and that it was the most natural thing to do. I can't really explain it...

Phantom looked stunned at first that I pulled her aside until I explained, "Sorry, I know I just said bringing you somewhere public was the safer bet given what you've been through tonight, but I was starting a little too exposed so let's talk here. I don't want that fucker finding us at a bad time since I'm not in the mood to fight any more ghosts tonight. That's usually your job and as much as I hate to admit it you ARE usually really good at it so I don't mind leaving you alone usually. Guess tonight is the exception to the rule huh?"

"Rules huh?" Phantom repeated in an oddly -no pun intended- dead-pan tone of voice, "I don't think there are any rules about this sort of thing. If there were maybe someone else would be hunting ghosts day in and day out. If there were rules I was meant to follow I wouldn't even be with him because in everyone else's eyes I'd be breaking all of them. The laws of nature, the laws of...physics, there's just nothing normal about us.

"There's nothing normal about me either," she continued as her bottom lip began to tremble, "So maybe I really don't deserve to have anyone love me because I'm a freak. Maybe this is my punishment for hoping I could be anything else but what I am or was turned into against my will. Either way that means I'll never have a normal life. Not that it ever WAS normal to begin with..."

"What are you talking about?" I asked unsurely, knowing better than to point it out but I had to ask, "Do you mean...how you became a ghost?"

Flinching Phantom looked up at me sharply again just like earlier and looked like she was about to answer me until, with another shake of her head she backed away from me and said, "I...guess so, in a way. But I just wish there was some way I could forget this horrible feeling in my chest...just for one night..."

Hugging her stomach as if it hurt Phantom sank into the grass and curled up again, or tried to but I couldn't let her keep doing this to herself so ignoring my earlier hesitation I knelt down with her and pulled Phantom into a hug. She hesitated at first but then unfurled her arms from her stomach and hugged me back tightly. Phantom had no more tears to cry so all she could do was hold onto the only thing rooting her to reality instead of letting her spiral off into another wave of crushing despair and anguish right now which strangely enough was me. I was trying to be there for her since Phantom clearly didn't feel like she had anyone anymore and that really made my heart go out to her-

Because being alone during your darkest hour is a very painful experience.

I should know, I had a pretty dark one myself until Dani saved me and my dad from a life of poverty when he lost his job because of a ghost. If Dani wasn't there for me I'm not sure what would have happened to us. That's why if I could do something good for Dani someday when she needed me like I was doing right now protecting her from ghosts, then that's what I would do. As for right now, this ghost-girl wasn't my enemy, she was someone who needed to be saved so wasn't it my job to do just that even if the enemy was her own emotions...?

Thinking about Dani made my heart race and I could almost imagine it was her in my arms right now, that it was Dani seeking shelter from the terrible things in her life in the safety of my arms. I wanted to be there for her so badly it hurt sometimes too, but unlike Sam, I wasn't going to burden Dani with my feelings for her. Dani meant too much to me to pressure like that and I know things still aren't very easy for her back at home.

Still, sometimes it was hard for me to ignore my feelings for her when I saw Dani at school, smiling brightly and making me want to kiss her. And seeing Dani at the fancy birthday dinner Vlad threw for her tonight looking as radiant as ever the memory of her made my chest swell with warmth. Just knowing Vlad made her happy for the first time in what felt like ages made me feel relieved that someone finally managed to put a smile back on her face. I only wish I could do the same for her at school...

Letting go of Phantom when she seemed to have relaxed again, I cupped her face in my hands to look her in the eyes and tell her to get a grip since I knew she was stronger than this at least, something stopped me. Maybe it was the way she was looking at me, like she was relieved and knew she was safe being this close and I...damn, I've never been this close to Phantom before but have her eyes always been this beautiful? And the way her white hair shimmered gently and cast pale shadows on her face-

Without even thinking I leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers, shivering because of how cool they were which should have snapped me out of it since I was kissing a ghost. I was...kissing...a ghost?! Wait, what the-! Was thinking about Dani just now making me project those feelings on Phantom?

Pulling away sharply, instead of feeling disgusted I felt ashamed of myself since kissing any girl when someone had tried forcing themselves on them was wrong and I shouldn't have let myself get swept up in the moment. "Shit, I am so sorry! I-I shouldn't have done that! I uh, you just reminded me of this girl I like and- mmmph!?"

Instead of responding with words, her eyes fell half-closed and before I knew it she was following my movements and kissed me back. I was so shocked that I wasn't sure what to do with myself when Phantom pressed her whole body against me and my back sank into the grass. I couldn't wrap my head around what was happening but my body unwillingly responded and I felt a wave of heat sweep through it starting from where our lips were meeting...

Those lips, they should have been icy cold but they were nice and cool, like that feeling on your skin after getting caught in the summer rain. And god, she was an amazing kisser too. I felt her tongue trace my bottom lip before slipping inside and instead of gagging and trying to stop it from happening I got a bit too curious about what she was up to and let Phantom explore my mouth.

I don't know what came over me, maybe I was tired, maybe thinking of Dani had turned me on at the worst possible time but I felt hot all over despite the coolness of Phantom's body through her battle suit and the matching night air. But by the time Phantom pulled away from me my lips were aching and I was completely breathless. That was...incredible. However, the question was why did she-

"Please, help me forget about him for a while," Phantom suddenly pleaded, resting her hands on my chest and I could feel them trembling along with the rest of Phantom's body. "I want it to be my choice to forget, not his. Please Vallen...? Will you stay with me for a while? I don't want to be alone."

I blinked, still not sure how to respond but I think my head had grown fuzzy from the heat and unexpected pleasure her lips brought me with that kiss. In my head I knew this was all wrong, she's a ghost, and more importantly a ghost with some serious baggage right now that was none of my business really beyond what was going on right now, but right now all I could think about was how good I felt since I've been holding back for a while so all I could do was nod stupidly.

"Ok," I replied and that was all the invitation she needed to lean back while straddling my hips to unzip her suit again like it was earlier.

While she undressed I couldn't help but admire her beautiful skin despite being a ghost. It was nearly flawless and the way her ghost powers made it literally glow was kinda sexy. At this point though I was just too wrapped up in what I was feeling to think rationally anymore. I couldn't do much since she had me pinned down but I reached over to deactivate my battle suit and Phantom instinctively turned intangible to avoid when it whipped past her and I was back in whatever normal clothes I randomly put on before heading out on patrol tonight after Dani's dinner party.

I could feel my shaft throbbing in anticipation and rested my hands on her thighs, blushing deep red since I was sure she could feel it hardening beneath her. And clearly she did but instead of giving me a weird look, Phantom smiled knowingly and pulled her suit down over her shoulders to reveal more of her body, slowly brushing her hips against mine even though that was the only part still mostly covered by the lower half of the suit as Phantom reached up to undo her bra next. My heart was really hammering now and my hips jerked up a little when Phantom exposed her upper body to me and then slid her hands down past her breasts, stomach, and settle them between her legs and my pelvis.

"Is this...your first time?" Phantom asked quietly, her voice low and sultry but still oddly inviting and genuine.

Frowning a little I replied indignantly, "Seriously? Do you honestly expect me to answer that? I shouldn't even be doing this but you know...maybe this will help both of us feel better since there's someone I can't get off my mind either. So how about we make a deal? If this will help you get over what happened with your ghost lover or whatever, then we can go ahead and do this without any strings attached. If all I'm doing is comforting you and you're...m-making me feel good in exchange then- AH!"

Gasping, I was surprised when I almost had an orgasm from just thinking about having proper sex for the first time in months and I hunched forward in surprise at the sudden pressure I felt in my stomach getting ready for it. It was almost painful now so I started to sweat and fumble with my pants when Phantom put her hands over mine as if understanding exactly what I was dealing with and helped me free myself. Guess that answers my question about it being HER first time, I thought to myself as she stared at my shaft with a blank expression.

"Nevermind, I just didn't want to keep going if you were going to hate me for this later if it was your first time and feel guilty for letting a 'ghost' like me have sex with you. Believe me, I've already made the same mistake. And I don't need anyone else hating me for no reason or making me feel like a horrible person for having my own feelings and desires," she confessed, looking right into my eyes again with a mixture of desire, longing, and pained resignation in her expression.

"All I want right now is to lose myself and forget about what happened tonight, so don't hold back Vallen," lifting my hand to rest it on her stomach Phantom continued with some of her usual determination, "I can handle anything so do whatever you want with my body. And you're right, this doesn't have to mean anything to either of us, it can just be about mindless pleasure. And honestly, if that's the way he's going to treat me after everything we've been through together by going behind my back and ignoring my feelings then maybe this will make him think twice before chasing me into another man's arms when I was happy with the way things were..."

Feeling guilty just because it felt like we were both using each other for the wrong reasons I used what was left of my sanity that wasn't blinded by my arousal to ask, "Are you sure that YOU won't regret doing this Phantom...?"

Without missing a beat she replied, "The only thing I regret is ignoring the signs sooner that something wasn't right. I know better, and now this is my punishment. So after tonight...he's going to have to work his ass of to earn back my love...and my trust. Because I'm not going to trust anyone that can betray me so easily."

I still had questions and had things I wanted to ask but I really couldn't hold back anymore so once it felt like we had pretty much both agreed to this I withdrew my hand from her stomach, hastily shrugged out of my shirt, placed one hand on the small of her back before reaching up with the other to support the back of her neck and yanked Phantom forward for another kiss. She responded in kind and moaned into my mouth, rubbing her body against mine, and the throbbing shaft pressed against her stomach. Reaching down into the lower half of her suit I cupped her ass as she leaned forward while arching her back and lifted her hips to give me room to push into her heat.

At this point, we were letting our bodies do all the talking and I closed my eyes, imagining that I was doing this with the real Dani and not some ghost that happened to have the same first name. That helped a lot and helped me give into my most base urges as I thrust up inside of her and we fell into a rhythm of pushing up into each other and back down again. I was so caught up in what we were doing I didn't notice when Phantom phased off the lower half of her suit and my pants and we were fully naked and exposed to the elements.

But all I cared about was the coolness of her skin being melted by my heat as I let it consume our every thought, fuel our mindless need to reach for pleasure, and blind us to the rest of the world around us. It felt wonderful inside of her so I rolled us over so I was on top and began thrusting even harder inside Phantom's heat. She wrapped her legs around me and moaned loudly, not caring who heard us, and thankfully no one probably could in the middle of such a large park. I felt around with my eyes still closed until I found her breasts and squeezed gently, rolling them in my hands like dough and teasing the tips of her nipples with my fingers.

I had already cum several times and so had she but somehow we kept going, touching every inch of each other's bodies and looking for more ways to induce erotic pleasure since neither of us wanted it to end. Phantom was such an amazing kisser that I moaned each time her lips met mine and grazed my nails up her spine, returning that pleasure by thrusting my hips and pumping inside of her as fast and hard as humanly possible, I mean she did say she could handle anything...

But sadly, I was the one who wasn't able to last nearly as long.

It happened while Phantom was giving me an incredible blow job, I was starting to get dizzy from the ecstasy of the wonderful sex we were having that I collapsed onto the grass after letting my hands slip from supporting her head, breathing heavily. Concerned, Phantom slowly eased her mouth off of my shaft, and after giving herself a moment to breathe she asked me if I was too tired to keep going.

I nodded without thinking and just laid there, basking in the afterglow when out of the blue I felt tears fall on my stomach and finally opened my eyes to look at Phantom. She was crying again, but why? Because we couldn't keep going and she still had that other creep on her mind? Reaching up tiredly I brushed my thumb across her damp cheek and pointed it out to her.

"Hey, why're you crying? Was I not good enough to help you forget?" I barely got the question out before my eyes started to droop again.

"No...you were incredible but I...I'm so sorry. I shouldn't be using you like this. It's wrong and you deserve better Vallen. You deserve a normal girl that can actually stay with you and be honest with you but I'm just a manipulative bitch!" sitting up and pulling away from me, with glazed eyes Phantom sobbed, "I wasn't able to change him after all, but that doesn't mean I want to be like him so...please...forgive me..."

"For...what?" I asked, still not really processing what she was saying and when I blinked Phantom was gone and-

Nothing.

I felt a strange wave of shivers run up my spine and the next thing I knew I was waking up in my own bed. Confused, I sat up and noticed I uh...was having a little problem downstairs but given the fact that I was dreaming about having sex with Dani last night I couldn't help it. She looked so hot last night at the dinner party and I hoped to see her in a good mood at school today regardless.

Because if anyone deserved a little happiness...Dani did.


	44. Fixation

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: _Warning, more colorful swearing ahead!_** And to _"GiselleVera"_ yeah, I know it's unlikely Vlad would have found about it so quickly, especially given that he's kinda in shock atm because of what he almost did, but Danielle wasn't about to take any chances. She was kinda freaking out too and wasn't thinking straight so when Danielle realized she was doing something she normally would never do like betray the person she loves it was too much for her to handle emotionally.

Because even though Danielle feels hurt and betrayed by what Vlad did, or nearly did anyway, she doesn't want to hurt Vlad either despite the fact that he hurt her feelings first. Not only that, but finding out Vallen was the ghost hunting boy she kept seeing and realizing he was probably given that role by Vlad at the same time was very upsetting and heartbreaking too since he's also someone she cares about and wants to keep safe.

**P.S. **Also, just fyi I'm going to skip a few scenes entirely since I want to move things along so I'll summarize what basically happened off screen so to speak later on.

* * *

Chapter 44: Fixation

_(Chapter inspired by What Have You Done by Within Temptation)_

* * *

Vlad's POV

I have made a grave mistake...

There was no denying it, I overstepped my bounds and almost did the unthinkable to the person I love most. And for the first time since my accident that ignited a flame in me fueled by rage, hatred, and a burning passion for Maddie until I discovered Danielle and she gave me more than a one-sided love, I felt cold and numb inside. The ice that laced Danielle's wounded and angry words cut me to the core and they turned my world around me just as frigid as it often felt without her at my side...

I was still reeling from what happened tonight. Where did I go wrong? Why did that ghost Nocturne interfere? And why now? Why did he have to do it NOW and ruin everything?!

Because of him, I hurt her, something I promised never to do again. But I can't lose her! I can't lose Danielle too! Not like I lost Maddie when she was the one I cherished above all else.

After I finally recovered from the shock of waking from that dream turned nightmare that Danielle saved me from I was like a man possessed. The only thing that mattered now was to go through with my plans this very night before I lost my one true love forever. I was absolutely certain that even Danielle would not be able to ignore the threat of a ghost army invading this town in search of the Ring of Rage. Surely she would see that there was a bigger threat and would return to me whether she was ready to or not.

And even if she learned that this was part of my plan all along, I didn't care anymore. She may already hate me because of what I've done but I would never stop loving her. And in time, she would forgive me. She was still young and Danielle knew deep down that she was my everything. I am doing this all out of love because I NEED her, I need to know Danielle will be safe from threats like this Nocturne and other ghosts before we can ever truly be happy together.

Mindlessly I made sure to redress myself after nearly sexually assaulting the poor girl in a moment of madness and out of blind fear of her running from me before teleporting to the lab. _Danielle isn't going to want to see me right now, but she will...she'll have to when there is no other choice but to seek my help against this threat on her beloved town,_ I thought to myself as I activated the hidden safe and retrieved the Skeleton Key and a replica of the Ring of Rage I had made to fool the Ghost King into pursuing me.

I made sure it was masterfully crafted to match even down to the smallest detail. It even had ecto-energy infused into the metal so that from a distance that fool king would still believe its the real thing, albeit weaker from centuries of disuse. Now all that was left was to get the Fright Knight on my side in exchange for restoring him to his former glory and freeing the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse. With his help, even if Danielle refused to take part in this battle once she realized my part in it outside of protecting the common folk I would have more than enough power of my own combined with theirs to do away with Pariah Dark myself.

Once our victory was assured I would establish myself as the new Ghost King and claim Amity Park as my territory so no ghost would ever so much as think of passing through a portal to make a mess of it or trouble Danielle ever again. The rest of the world was fair game though...

I don't care about them, I don't care about anyone but Danielle! Soon she would understand why I have to do this. It's all for her sake so she no longer has to waste her time on these unworthy wretches and throw away her dreams for the sake of others. Danielle could be free to live her life to the fullest and bloom into the beautiful woman I saw in my dream. No matter what I was going to make that, and not the nightmare, a reality!

By the time I was even aware of my surroundings again I was already in the Ghost Zone, and I wasn't restraining my aura because I wanted every ghost in the vicinity to know I was to be feared and avoided at all costs. And soon, I would finally be the most powerful ghost of all time until Danielle surpassed me which may very well still happen one day and I relish the thought. I know how powerful she's capable of becoming and how capable she already is but I had to be sure, at least for now, that I was the one who made sure no harm would come to Danielle while she's still inexperienced.

I failed to protect her twice before, against Freakshow and the Banshee, but there would not be a third failure. I won't allow it! There is nothing beyond my control! Not her fate nor our future together! Danielle was mine and mine alone and I'll be damned if I let any ghost or mortal man interfere with our love! Never again will they interfere with my plans because soon I would make both of us untouchable.

* * *

Danielle's POV

As soon as I got home once Vallen was safe back in his own bed I risked taking a shower despite how late it was to wash away my guilt and get out of that stupid dress. After I tore the damn thing off and threw it into my closet in a crumpled heap I stepped into the shower to wash off and literally ended up sitting on the floor with my arms around my knees as the water jets massaged my back which was still coiled up from all the stress.

I just...didn't know what to believe anymore. Sam and Trish kinda warned me without outright saying it that Vlad was a little too obsessed with me, but while I knew that from the start this was the first time those feelings had turned Vlad into someone truly terrifying to me. I wanted to believe Vlad could still come back from this. After all he came back from killing a human being to protect me, right? So was this any different or had he finally gone too far?

By the time I finished in the shower I was too drained to think about anything else and crashed before my head even hit the pillow. It was just like every other time when it felt like I had barely closed my eyes before my alarm went off and it was time to head off to school. Bleary-eyed I reached for the first set of clothes I saw but stopped when I saw it was one of the outfits Vlad got me and frowned, pushing it aside to pick out something else.

In the end, I picked out one of the few outfits that still fit me that WEREN'T gifts from Vlad and headed out to meet Trish and Sam. I knew they were probably going to pick up on the fact that my mood wasn't exactly happy despite the awesome birthday I had up until Nocturne ruined it and Vlad-

"Hello, earth to Dani? You there?" Trish asked, waving a hand in front of my face since I was standing in front of my locker for a solid two minutes before finally grabbing the books I needed for class today.

"What? Oh, sorry...I guess I was spacing out a little," I replied listlessly, closing the locker behind me and heading straight for the classroom.

"Long night huh? Guess it was too good to be true that Vlad would actually manage to chase off all the ghosts for the rest of the night," Sam teased without quite as much sarcasm in his voice as usual. "But seriously are you ok? You seem a little out of it, well, more than usual I mean. Is something wrong?"

Shaking my head I lied, "No, I'm fine."

"Really? Cause you don't look fine," Trish added worriedly, "He's right Dani, something is clearly bothering you but if you can't talk about it here we can wait till after school. But I want you to know you can always talk to us, ok? We're only saying this because we're worried about you. You seemed so happy last night during the dinner party but now...well to be honest you look like shit."

Rolling my eyes I grumbled, "Gee thanks Trish. And fine, you caught me, I just have some...stuff I need to figure out and it's complicated so can we just leave it at that? I'm not in the mood to- Oof!"

The next thing I knew, before either of them could warn me about it, Diana came strutting around the corner and I crashed into her and spilled coffee all over her brand new blouse. At first, we were all a bit stunned but then her face turned bright red with rage and if this was a cartoon I swear there would have been steam hissing from both ears as Diana leered at me.

"Now look what you've done you little bitch! You're going to pay for this!" Diana snarled, her fists clenched on both sides as her shoulders shook in anger.

My survival instincts taking over I turned on heel and ran as soon as she stepped forward to slap me. I knew trying to apologize would have been pointless anyway so all I could do was run. Sure I had my ghost powers but right now there were too many people around and I was too freaked out to really think straight so I ran until I found my way to the music room and was about to dart inside when Vallen broke away from the crowd when he noticed I was the one running and followed after me. I only found out that he was following me because I felt him grab my hand and I instinctively almost tried to punch him until I saw it was Vallen and not Diana having caught up with me.

"Whoa Dani, where's the fire? Are you ok?" Vallen asked, his tone dead serious despite his little joke in the beginning.

I opened my mouth to reply until I realized I was still being chased so without a word I let my protective instinct kick in instead and pulled him behind me so we were both running now because I didn't want either of us to have to deal with Diana's rampage. Further down the hall, I noticed a broom closet and without even thinking I pulled Vallen inside and shut the door behind us before hastily shushing him before he gave away our position.

We could both hear Diana just outside yelling obscenities directed at me telling me what she'd do to me as soon as she found me so I crouched down and waited for her footsteps to fade before finally relaxing my posture and sank to the floor. Well, when I say relaxing I just mean snapping out of fight or flight mode. Once she was gone I shakily dragged myself off the floor and moved to sit behind a wall lined with a couple of mops and brooms mounted on a rack.

Heaving a sigh of relief Vallen turned to me once the coast as clear and while trying to cheer me up he joked, "We've gotta stop meeting like this Dani. People are going to get the wrong idea about us..."

Flinching when I remembered what happened last night I replied, "Yeah well, hate to break it to you but they already have the wrong idea about us. I ran into Diana once before on the way to Vlad's and she accused me of being the reason you've changed and told me to stay away from you before I ruined your popularity or something. I know you don't really care but...she's not wrong. And I'm sorry, I shouldn't have dragged you into this mess."

He blinked, not really understanding the double meaning behind my words so Vallen shrugged, "Dani it's really not a big deal. I don't care what anyone else thinks about our friendship and they can't change the fact that I like hanging out with you so I don't see the problem. And don't worry about Diana, if you want I'll just give her some money to buy a new shirt. I saw the coffee stain so I figured that's why she was chasing you. Let's just lay low for a few minutes before class starts ok? You look like you need some time to calm down anyway."

I nodded mutely and surprisingly Vallen just blushed when he glanced in my direction before clearing his throat and moving to a comfortable spot against the wall too but off to the side. But seeing that only made me feel worse since he probably vaguely remembered that I had sex with him as Dani Phantom before overshadowing him and brought Vallen home last night. I had to redress him and everything and I felt like such a horrible person. Especially when Vallen actually was ok with it for some reason!

I mean, Vallen has a right to feel attracted to whoever he wants but did that really mean nothing to him? Or was he thinking of me as Dani Fenton while we were doing it? Either way, to me it felt wrong since Vlad is the one I- No, he WAS the one I love. But you know what, after last night he doesn't deserve me and I'm sick and tired of hiding... I thought to myself harshly, glaring at the floor while making sure my eyes didn't accidentally start to glow because of how angry I suddenly felt again.

_Even though I'm not in the mood to deal with Diana, maybe it's time for me to take matters into my own hands and stop Vlad's plans myself. If he's not going to do it, then I will. After that, we'll see if Vlad can worm his way back into my good graces. If not I have other options right?_ Glancing at Vallen again I found myself blushing shamelessly when I faintly remembered how good he made me feel despite how awkward the whole thing was and how it came out of the blue.

But still, I had a lot of thinking to do not only about Vlad but about Vallen now that I knew Vlad was behind making him a ghost hunter which is ANOTHER thing he lied to me about. At least Vallen didn't seem to hate my ghost persona anymore if he was willing to...get it on with me despite the fact that I'm a ghost. It didn't disgust him like I thought it would so if we could do that, then maybe we could work together as hunters too. I just had to figure out a way to safely broach the subject without revealing who I really was...

"Hey...Vallen?" I asked a bit awkwardly, "Do you uh, wanna go over our book reports? I mean we might as well, right?"

Smiling back he nodded, "Sure why not? It beats sitting here in awkward silence," scooting up next to me properly this time Vallen pulled out his phone to use as a flashlight while I pulled out my report and he pulled his out too and we started working on it together. And with any luck, maybe this wouldn't be the last time we teamed up if I played my cards right because at least I knew I could trust Vallen, unlike a certain billionaire I could mention...


	45. Pandemonium

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: _Warning, more colorful swearing ahead! _** Hey guys! I meant to update this sooner but had a lot of stuff distracting me so hopefully this chapter turns out ok! Also, sorry in advance if this chapter is a bit too all over the place, but at the same time that was sort of my intention actually. Things have been going really slow in this story with a few problems popping up here and there but now I want to give the story a bit of a push so things can ramp up again and force Danielle to think on her feet and show us what she's got!

Because right now she basically has to figure out what Vlad is plotting, stop him from manipulating Vallen who she now knows is a ghost hunter because of him, and stop all the ghosts and find out who the hell the Ghost King is and what he wants before its too late! DUN DUN DAH! Ah and before I forget, thanks again for the review _"GiselleVera!"_ Also yes, the game is afoot so now its time to see who will win this battle of wills and wit! Danielle? Or Vlad?

* * *

Chapter 45: Pandemonium

(Chapter inspired by I Will Bow by Breaking Benjamin)

* * *

Danielle's POV

As if today couldn't get any weirder by the time we finished school for the day even Vallen ended up being chased by someone he was trying to avoid at any cost. We had to ditch his car too when she blocked us off and we're currently trying to get away from her and Diana. The irony of the whole thing almost made me laugh because I know for a fact that Vallen's still pretty popular with the ladies but this chick, man, she's a borderline stalker who is madly in love with him which I can relate to. Vlad was, and kinda still IS, just as crazy it seems.

Anyway, all I'm saying is that I totally get why Vallen would want to avoid someone like that. This girl Natasha has her heart dead set on going to prom with him next year and we ran into her right when Diana stepped out of class and set her sights on me. Everything happened so fast that all we could do was make a b-line for my house since it wasn't too far from school and most sane people who already know that my parents are ghost hunters won't come within ten feet of my house if they know what's good for them-

At least, no one but people who are either already close to us or are blissfully unaware of it.

"I just realized that this is probably the first time you've ever invited me to your house," Vallen pointed out as we rounded the corner and the infamous Fenton Works sign came into view. "Too bad we're doing it because we're running from someone instead of just hanging out."

"We can hang out all you want once we're off the street!" I exclaimed, chancing a quick glance behind us to see if Diana had tried to follow us in HER car. "We'll wait there until the coast is clear before you go pick up your car, at least then you can hide in the safety of your own home and not mine. Trust me, aside from scaring other people off its not all that safe in its own way..."

Wincing slightly when Vallen realized I was talking about ghosts he laughed nervously, "Right, sorry. Anyway, so much for getting Diana off your back huh? I seriously didn't expect to run into Natasha today or having to, well, literally run away from her too. I thought she was still in Chicago visiting her sick grandmother! That is if she actually HAS one and wasn't just trying to get me to say yes to going to prom with her out of pity."

"You think she's THAT desperate?" I asked once we slowed to a walk once it looked like we were in the clear for now and went up the steps to my front door.

Reaching over to open the door for me like a gentleman Vallen groaned, "Dani, people do crazy shit when they're this freakishly obsessed with someone. Trust me on this."

Instead of answering I bit my lip and nodded mutely, my mind flashing back to last night with him and earlier with Vlad and not gonna lie, it hurt just thinking about it. I wasn't looking forward to the next time Vlad showed up here like nothing was wrong since he was a _'family friend'_ or trying to find out how much of last night Vallen DID remember of meeting me as Dani Phantom. But hey, looks like I wasn't going to have to worry about psyching myself out because when we opened the door, the first thing I saw was Vlad sitting on the couch playing chess with my dad and my mom was serving him tea and asking if he was really alright.

I just...stood there in shock for a second because I did NOT expect to see him so soon but from the looks of it Vlad just escaped one hell of a fight which surprised me even more. He had cuts and bruises all over and for a split second I was instinctively really concerned about him and wondered if maybe Nocturne attacked him directly after I flew off to quote _'stop his evil plan'_ when I thought, _You know what? I don't really give a shit. Vlad __probably brought__ this on himself anyway and besides, he's lucky I'M not the one who kicked his ass! More importantly though-_

"Vlad, what the hell are you doing here?" I asked with as little venom in my voice as I could manage, moving forward so that I was standing in directly front of Vallen protectively when Vlad gave both of us a quick appraising look.

"Danielle, watch your tone young lady!" My mother frowned, setting the tea kettle down on the coffee table, "I'll have you know that Vlad has been through a lot today and he barely survived a ghost attack! He says there's a ghost after an antique ring he gave to you as a gift with ghostly properties he was unaware of at the time that broke into his home last night after we left and assaulted him! Once we knew how dangerous that ring was we tried looking for it in your room since its too dangerous and-"

"You did WHAT?!" I yelled, glaring daggers at Vlad and ignoring the whole _'play it cool in front of my parents' _part. "Are you fucking serious? After everything I've been through you gave me a ring that actually BELONGS to a ghost?! How could you be so stupid Vlad?! I thought you said it-!"

In the middle of all that arguing back and forth with my mom without accidentally giving away any sensitive information even though I was beyond pissed that that stupid ring really WAS part of Vlad's plans all along and it felt like he had used me, all of a sudden alarms started going off in the house and we all froze. Well, except for my parents that is who rushed over to one of the shelves with a bust of my dad which flipped open to reveal a switch and it activated some kind of radar screen-

"Dani, what's going on?" Vallen asked, his expression serious after he grabbed me by the shoulders to pull me out of the way before my parents barreled over me on the way over to the shelf. But the truth is I had no idea, all I knew was that whatever it was...it wasn't good.

"I don't know, this has never happened before!" I replied and thankfully that part wasn't a lie.

Still, I could feel my stomach doing somersaults when I had this horrible feeling again that Vlad had something to do with this. And if he didn't, that still meant I was probably going to have to figure out a way to slip away to transform and see what was going on with my own eyes.

His eyes widening in alarm my dad exclaimed, "Galloping goblins, it's the Ecto-Exodus Alarm!"

"The...what?" my brother blinked and I jerked in surprise since I didn't even notice him in the room after my eyes locked onto Vlad.

"The Ecto-Exodus Alarm!" my mom elaborated as if we were supposed to already know what the hell that was, "An alarm that only goes off when we're about to face a massive ghost invasion!"

Realizing my questions were going to have to wait I turned to Vallen and said, "This is bad, you need to get out of here!"

"No, I can't leave you!" Vallen frowned, his grip on my shoulders tightening slightly, "I said I'd protect you so don't your parents have somewhere safe for us to go? They're ghost hunters so they should-"

"The op-center!" Jason pointed out, glancing over at me and giving me and Vlad a knowing look despite the fact that he had no idea why we seemed to be fighting. "I'll show you where it is! Dani, you help Vlad up the stairs since he's still in pretty bad shape. We'll meet you up there."

"Wait, I'll do it," Vallen offered and my heart skipped a beat but not in a good way. Now that I knew Vlad was the one who made Vallen a ghost hunter I didn't want him giving him any funny ideas.

"No Vallen, Vlad doesn't know where it is but we do so I can manage. I'm not as weak as I look you know," I tried to argue but at this point, we were just wasting time and I needed to find a way to excuse myself so I could go-ghost!

I was feeling overwhelmed and angry by all this shit happening all at once when finally I had to choose between leaving Vallen alone with Vlad, or BEING the one alone with Vlad again so soon after fighting with him the night before and ultimately this wasn't about him. I had a job to do and whether Vlad was involved or not I had to keep everyone safe.

So finally I snapped and yelled, "Alright fine, Jace you show them BOTH the way to the op-center while I go find that damn ring! Mom and dad will know what to do with it!"

Hoping that would be enough to stop Vlad from putting ideas into Vallen's head I ran upstairs to my room and heard Jace telling Vallen to help him carry Vlad upstairs but unless being injured was just another part of his act I'm sure he was fine and would be sending a duplicate my way any minute now. Not only that, but if the Ring of Rage really was the problem here then I needed to get rid of it without letting it fall into a ghost's hands even though I wasn't sure yet just what I was up against. Either way, shit had hit the fan and just like I was afraid of last night-

I'm not allowed to have any happy endings.

* * *

Ok so...actually I lied.

But you knew that right? Before all this Vlad asked me to keep the ring with me even if I didn't use it just so I'd have something that could give my powers a boost in case I ever needed it so I've been keeping it with me on a chain necklace wrapped around the belt of my battle suit. So either way, once I was out of sight I transformed to make sure it was still there and low and behold, it was, but something felt...different about it.

Maybe I've kept it too close because I could feel its energy pulsing in my hand when I lifted it to eye level like a second heartbeat, or maybe it was responding to my rage or whatever but still, it was making me nervous. I had to get rid of it but also couldn't let Vlad or whoever was after it get their hands on it so for now I unfurled the chain, latched it around my neck, and kept it hidden underneath my suit. After that, I risked phasing through the floor to catch up with my parents before they made it to the lab and did what I could to stall them.

Invisibly I tripped my dad and then my mom who slid across the floor into a closet and I winced, _Sorry guys, this is for your own good!_

And with that, I rushed down to the portal, charged my hands with ecto-energy and braced myself, not sure just how many ghosts were being sent through the portal after this stupid ring. But regardless of how many there were, I was going to kick ALL their spectral asses!

"Ok, here we go!" I exhaled sharply when- wait, the Box Ghost? Seriously? "Huh? What the hell? Why're you-" I asked when he shouted his favorite catchphrase-

"BEWARE!" and before I could do anything else an energy ray was shot at me that knocked me flat. And after that, to my surprise, Skulker pinned me down with his boot and gestured for whoever was behind him to follow suit.

"I told you there was a way out through here. GO!" he shouted and the next thing I knew hundreds of ghosts shot out of the portal and out into Amity Park! But I don't get it! If just one ghost was after this ring Vlad gave me what were they running from? And more importantly-

"Damn it, Skulker, get the fuck off of me!" I snarled, grabbing his boot, flipping him over, and phasing us both through the roof back outside so I could confront him and the other ghosts properly. And since I was beyond furious at the moment since Skulker had pretty much broken Vlad's truce and basically attacked me I figured I'd return the favor and launched forward to punch him when a familiar clawed hand stopped my attack mid-strike.

"Stay your hand Lady Phantom, Skulker meant you no harm!" Dorian told me in his deep draconic voice. "He was simply showing us the nearest escape route before we are besieged!"

Still feeling completely lost I huffed, "Prince Dorian? What are you talking about? What's going on? And what the hell are you all running from?!"

Unexpectedly it was Ember of all people who answered darkly, "His name is Pariah Dark, the King of All Ghosts."

"But while we might be in a hurry..." Skulker smirked, pounding his fists together, "Since all bets are off and it's every ghost for himself I say it's a good time to get a little payback, ghost child."

Whipping his head around to shoot a warning shot with a plume of blue fire at Skulker, Prince Dorian flew in front of me in dragon form and snarled, "No, whatever grievances you may with her have are no longer important! We must flee before it is too late or have you already forgotten why you led us here? Besides, if you lay one finger on Lady Phantom I'll-"

"Skulker, he's right, just forget the brat and let's go!" Ember insisted, shooting me a dirty look before grabbing Skulker by the arm and pointing out a bit more anxiously, "I didn't save your sorry ass from Walker again just for you to go doing something stupid like picking fights when we have bigger things to worry about!"

"UGH! Fine, have it your way," Skulker grumbled before turning to me again and adding, "Besides, I guess I still don't want to get on his bad side or your dragon friend's so consider yourself lucky you have friends in high places, ghost child! But be warned, not even Plasmius will be able to protect you from the wrath of the Ghost King so if you value your life as a human and a ghost you'd better run while you can too! Because half-ghost or not...the Ghost King will try to assert his rule over both of you as well," Skulker sneered before flying off with the rest of the ghosts before I could stop them, and I was about to but Prince Dorian stopped me with his paw outstretched in front of me again and shook his large scaly head.

"Forgive me, My Lady, I know I should not have interfered but please understand that we've just been driven from our homes and even I am deathly afraid of what chaos and devastation the Ghost King will bring," his eyes softening, he leaned down and brushed my cheek with his muzzle and sighed sadly, "With this, I hope my debt to you is repaid for saving me from the Banshee. But I am afraid now we must part. There is no stopping the Ghost King's army so please, I beg of you more as a friend than as a fellow ghost to heed Skulker's advice. Take your loved ones, and run while you can."


	46. Averse

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **_**Warning, more colorful swearing ahead!**_ Ugh, finally, despite not being able to sleep well lately and getting swamped with other stuff at home I've finally finished another chapter! I've been trying to work on this for days but have been way too busy, not to mention it's blazing hot here which makes it hard to focus. Anyways I hope you like this chapter because again I want Danielle to step up her game so she's not a damsel in distress anymore to show Vlad he shouldn't underestimate her. After all, _'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'_ and Vlad may have a heat-based ghost core but when ice gets cold enough it can feel like it burns just as much.

* * *

Chapter 46: Averse

_(Chapter inspired by Different World by Alan Walker feat. Sofia Carson, K-391 & CORSAK)_

* * *

Vlad's POV

I would have been impressed by Danielle's little ploy to make sure I would be watched closely by her older brother and the young Vallen Gray so she could address the _'ghost invasion problem'_ were it not for the fact that I was still perfectly capable of creating invisible duplicates while in plain view of the two young men. Contrary to what Danielle believes I am planning to do next however, there's really no need for me to do anything drastic yet. At least, nothing too obvious that she'll notice right away...

All of the pieces are in place so now it is only a matter of time. I am simply waiting for the right moment to move another of my pawns into play to protect my _'queen.'_ After all, Danielle is not only my most valuable piece, but she is also the most precious to me. Clearly Danielle is still extremely aggravated about being forced to be in my presence so soon after the unfortunate events of the night before which is to be expected, but as predicted, once she turned her personal feelings about me aside her overprotective nature was too much for her to ignore.

Danielle had a job to do protecting this town, or so she believed. That's why Danielle wasted no time making up an excuse to run off to her bedroom alone to secretly _'thwart my plans to steal back the ring'_ assuming I didn't already know where it was. Not to mention Danielle wanted to find out what all the other ghosts were running from.

That being said, at least so far my plans were progressing nicely even though I am left with no choice but to proceed with them ahead of schedule. Undoubtedly Danielle assumed I would be sending a duplicate to detain or perhaps apprehend her before she could evade me as I mentioned before but I'm sure it will surprise her to know that no, I am not planning to get in her way any more than is necessary for her own safety since the Ghost King IS a formidable opponent. First I need to lull her into a false sense of security once Danielle realizes that I am indeed injured, although not as severely as I am pretending to be just like when I was thrown out of the Fenton Ghost Portal by a stray blast of ectoenergy thrown at me by the Ghost King himself after I roused him from his dreamless slumber.

Not everything has gone exactly according to plan but at least I was on the right track again despite that cursed Nocturne's interference. Now all I have to do is turn the tables on Danielle so that SHE ends up as the one unable to escape the overprotective eyes of her brother and close friend Vallen long enough to 'go ghost' because unlike myself she has yet to master duplication...

_I suppose there's no harm in giving one of them a nudge in the right direction while we wait for her to return though,_ I thought to myself once I settled into a chair with the help of Vallen while Jason went to the control panel to contact his parents I assume or turn on the ghost shield.

Making sure our interaction would go unnoticed by Danielle's brother I clasped the Vallen's shoulder before he could leave the room to check on Danielle and I told him in a hushed but urgent tone, "Vallen, listen to me, we must help Danielle before it is too late. I was a fool to put her at risk like this giving her such a dangerous artifact, the poor girl has been through too much as it is! Whomever rightfully owns that ring will surely come after her once they discover she has it. I couldn't find it myself even with Maddie's help but it is not worth risking her life over. However since Danielle won't want to listen to anything I say to her right now-"

Reaching into my suit vest, I pulled out the replica of the Ring of Rage and carefully placed it in his hand, explaining, "If you can, please convince Danielle to either give you the ring for safekeeping or find a way to switch it with this fake one while she isn't looking. It is infused with ecto-energy and should fool these ghosts long enough for us to come up with a plan to stop this madness and keep her and the rest of the town safe. Danielle values you as a dear friend my boy, that is why I believe that somehow you'll make her see reason."

Nodding in agreement and briefly glancing over at Jason who was fumbling with some of the controls since the control panel was a mess and it was difficult to find the button he needed, Vallen assured me, "I won't let you down Mr. Masters."

Once again looking up to make sure Jason was still too distracted to notice us, Vallen dashed out of the room after pocketing the ring and only when I was practically left to my own devices did I risk curling my lips up into a small smirk. _Oh, of that you can be sure. And my dear Danielle will be so busy protecting you that she will never suspect what I have in store once the Ghost King's forces arrive in search of the ring._

_Even if she does manage to hide the real one from me I have ways of finding it rather easily long before they do. What's more, that fake ring will still work as a splendid diversion. Poor Vallen doesn't realize yet that he has just offered himself up as the bait to keep her free of suspicion since he'll most likely keep the ring rather than hand her the replica just to be safe._

Resting a hand over my heart, I felt it flutter with the faint echos of Danielle's thoughts and feelings that I could no longer sense as strongly as before and my smile faded ever so slightly. I suspected this might happen given the fact that we're soulmates and Danielle is rather cross with me. I can only sense her feelings when Danielle's heart is open to me, and since my feelings have not changed Danielle can still sense mine whether she wants to or not which is both a blessing and a curse.

I want Danielle to know without a doubt that my feelings for her have not changed, although I do feel ashamed that I've caused her so much emotional pain and anguish through my actions on a special day that was meant to make her smile. On the other hand, however, I can't let my guard down in case she senses my intentions and actually does figure out a way to put a stop to all this before my efforts come to fruition. Still, if all goes according to plan this momentary rift that has formed between us will close and she'll understand why I am doing all of this and see how it will all be worth it once she no longer had to fight or fear ghosts and could finally realize her dreams, OUR dreams of a future together.

I will make Danielle see that this is a necessary evil.

* * *

Danielle's POV

When the dust finally settled and I recovered from the shock of what just happened after I snuck back inside before anyone noticed I went outside my parents were practically running around like headless chickens trying to prepare for the ghost invasion they knew was coming. Too bad they didn't know it was already too late for that. Hundreds of ghosts are now wandering around freely all over Amity Park after we were hit by the first wave of ghosts who are running from a much bigger threat like animals trying to escape an oncoming storm...

And guess who's going to have to fight that big bad? Probably the usual team of me, myself, and I because there's NO way I am getting Sam and Trish involved in this any more than necessary unless I have to. But still, even with my ghost powers, I doubt I'll be able to capture that many ghosts on my own let alone send them back to the Ghost Zone. Especially since they're apparently running from someone terrifying enough that even a ghost dragon like Prince Dorian was running for his afterlife.

Whoever this Pariah Dark is, he must be a big deal in the Ghost Zone if this many ghosts are absolutely petrified of him. Seriously, if Vlad IS responsible for this he is literally playing with fire here and he's going to burn for it. And you know what, maybe that will teach him a lesson about knowing when to stop while he's ahead.

No wonder Nocturne tried to warn me about this in my dreams! This whole mess has to be the biggest catastrophe I've faced since I first started fighting ghosts to protect everyone. I have no idea what I am getting myself into but once I decided to keep fighting ghosts despite Vlad's protests I suppose it was only a matter of time before something really big happened. I knew it wasn't always going to be as easy and stuffing the Box Ghost in the Fenton Thermos...

Still, as far as how I was supposed to deal with all this shit right now short of sucking it up and asking Vlad for help after all, I'm not really sure yet. But you know what? No, I'm done relying on Vlad and that lying bastard has caused enough damage as it is! Maybe if Vlad really wants to help me he'll wise up and clean up his own fucking mess and stop acting like an absolute moron by being a selfish prick and making everything ten times worse!

Unfortunately for me I know there isn't much else I can do about this mess for now except figuring out what my next move was. I'm just glad my parents haven't put us on full lockdown in Fenton Works quite yet so I still have some time left to get my head back in the game. I also quickly realized that I still need to tell Sam and Trish about all this as soon as possible. Then I have to make sure I stay on my toes until Vallen leaves so Vlad doesn't put any weird ideas in his head, though at this point it's probably already too late since I ended up preoccupied dealing with Skulker and his...friends?

Man, that's a seriously weird thought, I never would have guessed Skulker would care about anyone but himself so seeing him leading his fellow ghosts to the 'safety' of our world was oddly noble of him. So maybe, just maybe I could get him to tell me more about what's going on and even agree to some kind of truce. I mean, I want them out of my town and they probably don't want their homes destroyed by this Ghost King creep. And if Prince Dorian can vouch for me then there was a chance I could put a stop to all this without Vlad's help!

_This all happened because you didn't believe I was strong enough,_ I thought harshly to myself, steeling my resolve, _But I'm going to prove you wrong, Vlad. I'll show you how strong I am! I'll show you I don't need your protection anymore It's game on. Because if you don't let go of your stupid pride to do the right thing this time, you're going to lose more than just the game, you're going to lose me too because I can survive without you if I have to...just like I before I ever even met you._

* * *

Rushing back to my room after getting over feeling like the world was crashing all around me I nearly jumped out of my skin when Vallen slammed open my bedroom door and panted, "There you are! I thought you said you'd be right behind us! What the hell were you thinking running off on your own anyway? Don't scare me like that! If it wasn't for Vlad needing help I would have-"

"I know, I'm sorry," I cut him off and did my best to use my nervous tone to make this sound convincing as I come up with a lie on the spot to hopefully make Vallen think I couldn't find the ring for some reason. _I'll have to hide the ring somewhere even Vlad won't think to look but for now, let's solve one problem at a time..._

"But nevermind that now! I tried looking for the ring, but it's gone! I can't find it anywhere and a few minutes ago I saw a bunch of ghosts fly past the window so maybe one of them took it. This is really bad Vallen...what am I going to tell my parents?" I inwardly winced at the fact that I was reduced to pretending to be genuinely still rattled by all this, which wasn't too hard since my voice DID sound a bit shaken after Vallen's sudden entrance startled me.

But at the same time I know Vallen isn't stupid. That's why I was so worried that Vallen might actually see through my lie and I'm hoping he'd be more worried about how I felt about all this and wouldn't be looking for any of the finer details to confirm my story. I gasped when I heard Vallen swear under his breath then grab my wrist, "I'm sure Mr. Masters and my dad will help your parents figure this out Dani, don't worry. But for now, let's go somewhere safe until this blows over ok?"

I nodded, "Alright..."

"By the way, is it ok if I borrow your cell phone for a bit? I need to call my dad to tell him what happened but my phone is dead...ugh, ironic since we're dealing with ghosts huh? Can you imagine how weird it was seeing something like...ghost phones?" Vallen chuckled as he led me up the stairs and I knew what he was doing, he was trying to cheer me up by making jokes like I usually did to distract myself from all of the bad things happening around me. It was really sweet of him honestly, but at the same time, I wasn't in the mood-

I need to focus otherwise Vlad will rig every move I make so I have to use whatever small advantages I have. For one thing, unless Vlad could sense it he didn't know I still had the Ring of Rage with me and for another, he didn't know I knew Vallen's secret about being a ghost hunter. I still need to talk to Sam and Trish to see what they think I should do while hopefully avoiding a lecture about they _'told me so'_ about Vlad's fruitloopiness. I just need to know they're with me on this at least as far as basic planning and with any luck...soon I might be able to get a bunch of the escaped ghosts and even Vallen on MY side of the chessboard.


	47. Cryokinesis

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **_**Warning, more colorful swearing ahead! **_To "_GiselleVera"_ I did consider that song actually, there's even a music video on Youtube with Vlad using it! It's a really good song! Also to _"storybrooke38248" _ yeah it's hard not to pair those two because even in their normal versions I personally think Valerie is better for Danny than Sam is _(sorry not sorry lolz,)_ but this is still an au pairing with Vlad and my genderbent version Danny so we'll have to wait and see if he can still turn it around or if there will have to be a _"bad end"_ where he loses his soulmate after reaching for too much and he has to let her be happy with someone else...

* * *

Chapter 47: Cryokinesis

(Chapter inspired by She's So Gone from Lemonade Mouth)

* * *

Danielle's POV

"HE DID WHAT!?" Sam and Trish exclaimed at the same time which made me cringe because I knew they'd react this way and because I had a splitting headache.

"Not so loud, my head is killing me more than my ghost half enough as it is..." I groaned and leaned heavily against the side of the school building since we had to sneak outside to make sure we wouldn't be overheard. And a big part of that is because I wanted to talk to Sam and Trish about the other issue with Vallen being the Red Hunter without him actually showing up in the middle of our conversation...

I already had so much on my mind to think about with Vlad but thinking about Vallen on top of that made it impossible to sleep at all last night. Well, that and I'm still paranoid that Nocturne might show up in my dreams again with another premonition of doom and with a big fat _'I told you so' _speech ready for me. More importantly, I didn't want to let my guard down while Vlad might be scheming his next move in the guest room next to me just waiting till I nodded off to do more stupid shit.

The only saving grace is that I managed to get Vallen home before Vlad pulled any of his strings as far as I can tell so that was one less thing to worry about, at least as far as yesterday is concerned. As for today, my first priority was to get my friends up to speed about what's going on between me and Vlad, omitting certain details for obvious reasons, so they'd know he's currently on my bad list at the moment and because of him we have much bigger things to worry about. I'm just glad Sam kept his 'I told you so' thoughts to himself because I could NOT deal with that right now. My nerves are frazzled enough as it is with my ghost sense going off every few minutes because of how many were loose right now all over town...

In fact, it was getting so bad that I started to shiver all over.

"Dani, you ok?" Trish asked worriedly and I shot her a dirty look.

"Sorry, standard question," Trish apologized with a weak smile before it immediately fell when she frowned. "I still can't believe Vlad tried to mess with your memories by overshadowing you when you caught him in a lie like that. That's seriously fucked up! Especially after what Freakshow did to you a few months back. No wonder you're so pissed off at him! And you think he's to blame for all the ghosts around here now too?"

"Oh, I don't think, I KNOW!" I snarled, gasping again when my ghost sense went off for the hundredth time today and I tried to rub my arms long enough to smooth out the goosebumps.

"Turns out the ring Vlad gave me as a _'gift'_ to boost my ghost powers belongs to some ghost named Pariah Dark and the ghosts who are wandering all over town were led here by Skulker so they could get away from him. And ok I'll admit that Vlad did say the ring came with a few risks, but when I asked him if it was safe to use he lied to me about taking it from another ghost! So it makes sense that this Pariah guy wants it back, but it's not something I want to hand back to a ghost that sent even Skulker and all my other ghost enemies running for the hills. Even my friend Dorian, you know that one ghost prince guy, seemed scared of him too and he can turn into a freaking DRAGON!

"Then there's that other guy, Nocturne, he showed me a glimpse of my future and what could happen if Vlad screws everything up for both of us too. That's why I need to make sure V-Vlad can't find it and that this Ghost King bastard doesn't- God damn it why won't I stop shivering?!"

Getting fed up with the goosebumps, I stood up with a huff and started pacing, my eyes burning green as I grumpily scanned our surroundings for actual ghosts since I know I saw a few earlier. But as much as it pained me to ignore them I didn't want to waste my energy trying to hunt ghosts right now when we have bigger problems and I know they were bound to come straight back here to Amity Park anyway since it's the only place in the world besides Vlad's place with access to a stable ghost portal, and he keeps his under lock and key.

I felt so cranky from lack of sleep and miserable that I didn't even notice when Sam planted himself in front of me, grabbed my shoulders to try and get me to calm down. That's when we noticed it wasn't just my breath that was cold...but my whole body.

"Holy shit Dani your skin is like ice! Here, take my jacket," shrugging out of his black leather jacket and draping it over my shoulders, I forced myself to take a couple of deep breaths before looking up and muttering a small thank you.

Since I felt extremely tired, miserable, and angry, I didn't really notice how cold my skin was before til Sam actually pointed it out. I just thought it was a bit chillier outside than usual which is part of why Sam brought his jacket and Trish was wearing a knit sweater, but like I said I honestly haven't been paying enough attention to even care what I put on this morning. I was so out of it and eager to get out of the house before Vlad could open that venomous mouth of his that I didn't even care of what I picked to wear was something he got me, so for all I knew I threw on a tank top and capris and called it good.

Trying to help me warm up by pulling me close and rubbing my shoulders Sam continued, "Look, Dani, I know you're stressed out and all but it's going to be ok. You're not in this alone! We don't need that douche bag's help anymore anyway because you're a lot stronger now than you used to be, and Trish and I are totally over the idea of calling it quits helping you catch ghosts so we're for you. If the three of us, put our heads together I'm we'll come up with a plan to stop all this without running to Vlad like last time something serious happened, alright? So just tell me how I- I mean how WE can help!"

Smiling weakly when I saw him blush I hugged Sam and admitted, "Thanks Sam, you guys are the best. I feel a lot better just getting all that off my chest. And to be honest, I almost forgot what it was like not to have to rely on Vlad's help. But you're right, I don't need him! I have you two! Seriously, with friends like you by my side, I know we'll figure this out just like we have dozens of times!"

"Damn straight!" Trish cheered and slung her arms around both of us, grinning widely, "Oh yeah, looks like Team Phantom is back in business!"

"Oh, that reminds me, there's one more thing I forgot to tell you," I interrupted sheepishly, prying myself away from the two of them before they got too cold, "It's about Vallen..."

"Vallen? What's Vallen got to do with anything?" Trish blinked, "Dani, no offense but I don't think this is the best time to be worrying about our boy troubles. No offense Sam!"

Blushing when it just hit him how flirty it might look to everyone else that he gave me his jacket and feeling embarrassed by her teasing Sam stammered, "Shut up Trish! It's not like that! I'm not making a move on Dani she's just cold because her ghost sense keeps-"

"Shh! Guys, I hear someone coming!" I hissed when my ghost hearing picked up a voice nearby and I barely had time to shove the jacket back into Sam's hands and take a step back when Vallen walked up to us and I stammered, "Um, h-hi Vallen. Is everything ok?"

Looking up sharply after hanging up his phone and pocketing it, he replied, "Whoa, geez Dani you scared me! What are you guys doing out here? Isn't it dangerous with all the ghosts around?"

"I could ask you the same question buddy," Sam pointed out with a raised eyebrow, "Who were you talking to just now anyway?"

_Shit, I hope he wasn't talking to Vlad,_ I thought with growing dread when Vallen answered-

"Not that it's any of your business, but I was talking to my dad about what happened yesterday," Vallen explained bluntly, "My dad says Vlad has people currently working on a solution to the ghost problem since he's still resting at Dani's place for now after being attacked by a ghost. Anyway, I actually wanted to talk to Dani about that for a sec so would you two mind giving us a minute? Remember what Mr. Lancer said, for our own safety we'll either be carpooling or picked up by our parents after school so it might be hard for me to talk to her about this later. Please? It's important."

My mouth went dry though because I suddenly had a bad feeling about what he had to say to me so after giving Trish and Sam a look I slowly shook my head to hint at not wanting to be alone with him just yet. I knew Vallen had a point but still-! Just then, before I could worry about what Vallen might have to say the four of us heard more voices coming from the other direction and saw Diana and her pack of cheerleaders rounded the corner, looking pissed as soon as they laid eyes on me.

"There you are you little bitch, I told you you were going to pay for ruining my shirt yesterday," Diana smirked coldly, completely ignoring the fact that Vallen was there with me. There were even a few jocks I didn't notice before that slowly formed a circle around us which cut off our escape route and had us literally backed against the wall. Just what did she think she was doing?

"Hey, takes one to know one Diana!" Trish said bravely but shrunk back when another girl shot her a really venomous look.

Before Sam could do it, Vallen stepped in front of me with a few short strides and frowned, "Knock it off you two, this is stupid-" then, pointing out the jocks most of all he continued, "And don't you think this is a bit extreme even for you, Diana? I already told you that I'll pay you back for the shirt Dani ruined so can we just leave it at that and call off the bloodhounds? We have enough to worry about with ghosts everywhere so we should ALL be inside right now!"

"Oh yeah? Then maybe Fenturd should have thought about that before running off with you like the little bitch she is. Or should I say slut," despite myself, I flinched even though she didn't know what she was talking about and only wanted to get under my skin, but what she said next was the last straw.

"Heh, I knew there was something fishy going on between you and Vallen, but when one of the girls actually told me she saw you drag him into a broom closet with you. Did he give you a good time in there? Figured you were on death row and wanted your last meal? Well hate to break it to you whore, but not even he's going to be able to save that ugly little ass of yours!"

Sneering Diana added, "As far as I'm concerned, Vallen's just as much a loser as the rest of you now. I tried to warn him you'd be his downfall, guess it's time for him to learn that the hard way," turning around seemed to be some kind of signal because the next thing I knew, one of the jocks tried to shove Vallen aside and a different guy rushed at me from behind and its only thanks to my instinctive reaction to turn intangible for a split second just to avoid him ripping my shirt.

As for the guy in front who rushed at Vallen, he forgot one very important thing about him being a master of karate so even though the guy was bigger than him Vallen grabbed his arm and used the force of his own lunge to send him flying over our heads into the other guy I dodged earlier. Trish was kinda busy running from some of the cheerleaders trying to scratch her eyes out or pull her hair and Sam had resorted to pulling off one of his boots and threw it in another jocks face.

Everything was so chaotic that we barely even noticed it when we heard one of the cheerleaders scream, "AHH! Ghosts!" before she bolted in the opposite direction.

And sure enough, we dropped everything we were doing when we saw a small army of toxic green ghost skeletons heading straight for us and all the color drained from my face when I realized I hadn't hidden the ring yet! So, with only seconds to spare while no one was looking at me, I turned invisible and flew through the wall to transform once I made sure the coast was clear. I was just about to go-ghost when a violent shiver ran up my spine and I literally froze in place.

With so many ghosts heading straight for us my ghost sense was going off in a constant mist that it hurt to breathe for a second. I tried as hard as I could not to hyperventilate, especially when I looked down and saw frost forming at my feet and my mind flashed back to when my future self froze my body from the waist down in Vlad's nightmare. No way, was I...already developing ice powers that fast or was it just my ghost sense bleeding into my human form more than usual?

Either way, even though I hadn't transformed yet I could tell something was wrong when I felt something cold and hard burning my chest. It was the Ring of Rage, it had to be! After that, I wasted no time transforming and yanked off the ring before the intensity of the cold gave me frostbite where it had been resting against my bare skin in ghost form, which to be fair was probably a mistake even though I only did it to keep it hidden.

When I stared down at the ring I was shocked by how different it looked. It had turned this sharp crisp neon blue and a fine mist was curling off the metal as if it was covered in frost. That's when it hit me, does the ring change form based on the core of the ghost using it? The ring's aura felt different too which gave me an idea. If I could hide it long enough before Vlad or the Ghost King's goons found it like this maybe I-

"There you are Danielle, I've been looking everywhere for you," I heard a calm familiar voice call out to me from behind and it made me shiver for an entirely different reason. "I've come to take back the ring and to bring you somewhere safe. The Ghost King's army has arrived sooner than I expected so I'm afraid we'll have to skip the pleasantries this time, my dear. You're coming with me."

Enraged by how casual Vlad sounded about the whole thing made the ring burn colder in my clenched hand and the next thing I knew, I shot a blast of ice energy at Vlad with the other for the very first which sent him flying through the wall and I screamed just as coldly as my eyes turned an icy blue even in ghost form, "Guess again cheesehead! I'm not going ANYWHERE with a lying bastard like you!"

I was DONE being told what to do, lied to, and manipulated by Vlad so in my mind it was time to show him once and for all how strong I really am! He might have more experience than me, have more control of his powers, but I don't care! Vlad brought this on himself and I'm not going to let him ruin everything between us by being a selfish asshole. So if that means I'm the one who has to beat the shit out of HIM so Vlad will catch a clue to call this whole thing off and apologize for causing it in the first place, then so be it...!

Guess it's time for me to become an Ice Queen to counter Vlad's Ghost King!


	48. Irresolution

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: _Warning, more colorful swearing ahead!_**

* * *

Chapter 48: Irresolution

(Chapter inspired by Fighter by Christina Aguilera)

* * *

Vlad's POV

Needless to say, I was stunned when Danielle actually attacked me without holding back for the first time since we originally met when she didn't know who I was yet. Even then, I found her power and grace still just as mesmerizing as ever. But more than that I must admit that I felt slightly alarmed when I suddenly felt it, the abrupt severing of our connection when her ice core created a sort of...well, an ice wall around her heart as soon as she made the decision to treat me as her enemy once more. Not that I needed to sense her emotions when I could already see the unbridled fury in her eyes when Danielle flew at me again, readying another attack.

I had no intention of hurting Danielle, regardless of how she felt about me presently, so I caught her by the throat when she reached me and unceremoniously dropped her onto the grass, frowning deeply, "Enough games Danielle. Why must you always be so difficult when you're like this? In case you haven't noticed my dear, you really ARE in danger so I need you to listen to me! The Ring of Rage is dangerous so if you refuse to give it to me then at the very least you HAVE to get rid of it. Do you hear me? I wasn't lying when I said if the Ghost King finds it he'll be-?!"

Before I could finish my argument or Danielle could form a reply, I saw the Fright Knight leading the other skeletons straight for us and glowered. I had meant to speak with him BEFORE waking the Ghost King, but in my haste, all I managed to do was trick them into chasing me with the replica of the ring before placing myself at Danielle's to either switch the real one with it or give it to Vallen as a diversion before simply taking it from Danielle since I knew she hadn't had time to hide it yet. Still, my plans to convince the Fright Knight to join me with the promise of rescuing the remaining three Horsemen remained unchanged, I would just have to do it on the battlefield instead of the Ghost Zone.

Once his forces reached us, Danielle quickly rose to her feet and turned her attention back onto them, and shockingly she seemed to be using her untapped ice powers instead of the usual ecto-energy. Was it because the ring had summoned the dormant energy from her core? I had meant to test this theory but it would seem the ring's power really did depend on the ghost using them. Without the crown to help focus all that raw energy, however, it was only a matter of time before Danielle went mad with power just like the future version we saw in that nightmare vision Nocturne trapped me in.

I had to get it away from her before the fool girl put it on again!

Sadly my focus was divided between carving a path over to Danielle through the skeleton horde and keeping an eye on the Fright Knight, waiting for my chance to finally speak with him without the rude interruption of the Ghost King. As luck would have it, he found me first, pulled me up by the collar, and demanded that I returned the ring.

"I don't have it!" I huffed indignantly, but then I added a bit more cordially, "But if you join me, perhaps I can interest you in something of yours that you've misplaced and-!"

The next thing I knew, we were both shot with an energy blast and I groaned when it was none other than Vallen Gray in his full ghost hunting gear. I should have known the boy would show up now, he probably thought that Danielle was taken by ghosts and was looking for her after she vanished in the middle of that scuffle earlier with that Diana girl and her cohorts. Not that I blame him, I would have shared the same concern seeing as I told him they were after the ring I gave her which is the truth to some extent, they ARE after the ring but as of this moment they still think I have it, not her.

"Hey, ghost punks! You better get ready 'cause I'm about to kick all your sorry asses unless you give my friend back!" Vallen shouted, charging his weapon at us.

I had to hand it to him, the boy was quite talented at this but now wasn't the time to admire his determination since he believed one or both of us had spirited Danielle away. Too bad she was already here, but in a form he either still saw as only a nuisance or a threat now. I hoped it was the prior because while she was stunned from the shock-wave of the blast directed at myself and the Fright Knight he pulled her up by the front of her suit but I was too far away to hear what he was saying. In fact, I could see the skeletons forming a circle around me since I was their actual target and swallowed hard because for once, as much as I hated to admit it, maybe I didn't think this through as much as I should have...

* * *

Danielle's POV

"Alright ghost girl, what the hell is going on here? Tell me!" Vallen demanded harshly and I winced.

"It's-it's complicated. But look, as hard as it might be to believe we're not the problem, that guy is-" I replied, pointing at the Fright Knight charging at us while his remaining skeleton troops tried to corner Vlad. "-and I could really use your help stopping him because the other ghost you just saw, well let's just say he's not on my good side right now so he isn't going to be much help to either of us. But I CAN help since I know exactly what they're after!"

Trusting Vallen even though I couldn't tell him the truth about me in the middle of a fight, I extended my hand to show him the Ring of Rage in my hand and explained, "I um, took this from Fenton Works to protect everyone when I found out what was going on. Someone named Pariah Dark, the King of all Ghosts, is after it so will you help me get rid of it? And don't worry, Dani Fenton is safe, I brought her somewhere else nearby when those kids started fighting with you guys and those skeletons started closing in. You're welcome."

"That's- you mean a ghost really did take it? Figures. I guess it looks like Dani was telling the truth after all. But tell me, how did you know where it was anyway...? Actually no, don't answer that because it doesn't matter. I already know what they're after so I have a plan of my own so I don't need your help, ghost girl. I just need to know who's responsible for this so I can kick their ass." Glancing back up at the Fright Knight when he suddenly remembered the guy was charging at us, Vallen activated his shield just in time and while he was still hanging onto me he then pulled me up so I was now standing behind him when the impact between the Fright Knight and the shield sent him crashing into the ground again.

Smirking at me Vallen scoffed, "See? I've got this covered. Besides, I still don't entirely trust you despite our little heart to heart the other night-"

_So he does remember at least part of that night,_ I thought sadly before I shook my head and argued, "I'm sure you're very skilled and all, but this is serious! I'm telling you this guy, the Fright Knight, as powerful as HE is he's just a lackey, it's the Ghost King himself we need to worry about so please, even if you don't trust me will you at least help me stop them? Two heads are better than one, right?"

Reaching my hand out to him again with the ring still resting on my palm, I silently thought, _I believe in you Vallen and...there's so much I want to tell you but now isn't the time! I just hope you trust me enough that you know I lied about taking it from myself and taking my human self to safety because I'm trying to do the right thing. That has to be enough, especially if the only reason you ARE doing this, being a hunter I mean, is for ME, Dani Fenton! SO PLEASE, JUST TAKE IT!_

There was a tense moment of silence when Vallen switched between looking at the ring in my hand and up at my face, but eventually, Vallen nodded and shook my hand, taking the ring from it in the same fluid movement and I let out a sigh of relief and smiled back. Maybe this wasn't the way I wanted it, but as long as I was working together with someone I COULD trust right now instead of Vlad then I felt ready for anything. That's why -not caring if he remembered or how it looked if Vlad saw- I pecked Vallen on the cheek and said thank you before floating back off of his hoverboard and waiting til he lowered the shield again since I was kinda stuck in it with him at the moment.

After that, the two of us dive-bombed the Fright Knight who was still recovering from the impact, and while I saw Vlad helping us too by sending a few energy blasts his way I didn't give a shit. Vallen's help was all I cared about as we lashed out with attack after attack until finally, the Fright Knight got fed up with us and drew his sword, pointing it at us.

But instead of attacking he declared, "Fools! All I wanted to do was seize the Ring and return to Pariah's Keep. But now, you give me no choice," raising the sword above his head with both hands the Fright Knight continued just as regally, "By the authority vested in me by my Lord and Liege, I claim this town now and forever under the banner of Lord Pariah- The King Of All Ghosts!"

As soon as he finished, the Fright Knight yelled and stabbed the sword into the ground and a burst of green energy spread in every direction and my eyes widened in shock when all the skeletons just...stopped moving. They lowered their weapons but still stood at the ready like silent suits of armor you'd see decorating a castle. But worse than that a pillar of light shot into the air too and parted the clouds, forming what I could only assume was a ghost shield...over the entire town!

Refusing to believe it, I flew up to try attacking the shield but it was no use. None of my attacks were working and I couldn't risk tiring myself out yet by using my Final Dirge attack since there was no telling when the skeletons would spring back to life so to speak or Pariah Dark himself would show up. Vallen followed suit trying to help me by going after the Fright Knight himself but he was brushed aside with a rather nasty punch to the stomach and when I saw it happen I rushed back down to catch him when Vallen suddenly blacked out from the blow and his suit deactivated.

Vlad walked over to us too and knelt down but I held Vallen closer and snarled, "Stay away from him! This is your fault and you know it so don't pretend you give a shit about either of us!"

"Danielle, I-" he began with a slightly wounded tone of voice at my harsh tone when the Fright Knight recited one last order of business to us.

"The sword has sunk, your die now cast, the sword removed shall signal fast. Make reappear the Ring thou hast or your next day shall be your last!" And with that, he turned into a cloud of bats, which was kinda new to me.

And before I could really rip into Vlad for putting me, everyone else, AND Vallen in danger we heard my mother's voice on loudspeaker and panicked, noticing the sound was getting closer so we immediately changed back to our human forms by what I thought was an unspoken agreement when like the coward he is, Vlad teleported away instead. Leaving me alone cradling Vallen's unconscious form close to me and feeling torn between screaming in frustration, or crying because of how unfair this all is.

I closed my eyes and tried not to think about anything aside from the relief that Vallen didn't seem too badly hurt, and to my surprise, he still managed to keep a hold of the ring when he rushed at the Fright Knight too. Either way, it wasn't long before I heard footsteps and looked up sharply, seeing my mom and Vallen's dad running towards us. And when they saw me holding Vallen, they demanded to know what happened and if we were alright and it took every ounce of willpower to just spin a convincing lie for them when the truth is-

No, I'm not alright at all.

* * *

As much as I hated to admit it, Vlad has taught me one useful trick about mixing the truth and a few white lies together to paint a convincing picture. Because it was true we were attacked by ghosts and Vallen did protect me before being knocked out by the Fright Knight. What I didn't know is that it took him a while to reach us after beating up a few jocks before they ran off too and a couple of skeletons before he showed up so he was a lot more banged up than I realized when my parents took a look at his injuries...

Then again, they only thought he fool-heartedly attacked ghosts with his bare hands and feet using karate, they didn't realize his injuries would have been worse if it wasn't for that battle suit. But I knew the truth. And even though I hated knowing it was Vlad who gave it to him, the fact is the suit DID protect Vallen and for now, that was enough for me. I was just happy he was alright and when we were brought back to my house, the first chance I got to talk to him alone I convinced Vallen that Dani Phantom did save me hoping to make her look a bit better in his eyes at least until I talked to Sam and Trish about telling him the truth about her and I being one and the same and that I'm actually half-ghost.

I didn't have the heart to tell Vallen the truth about Vlad too, even if we ARE on bad terms at the moment. I didn't want Vallen going on a vendetta and outright attacking Vlad or worse, telling his dad the truth and causing a whole other mess. I just...fighting with Vallen by my side felt so right somehow.

It was such a relief to me that Vallen was actually willing to help me at all given our brief history when I caused a few problems for his family thanks to Cujo but Vlad helped me fix that before things got too bad. It gave me hope that I could trust him with my secret just like Sam and Trish and have another ally in all this. And I felt like I could be honest about being pissed off at Vlad and Vallen would respect that enough to help me on the down-low without getting our parents involved, and besides, he wouldn't want to risk his dad getting fired over it either.

Either way, since a bunch of people from town were taking shelter in the area thanks to the Fenton Ghost Shield, for the most part, we were safe for now and had time to think. Plus as much as their parents hated to admit it, my house is the safest place to even be right now so Sam and Trish were staying with us too just like Vallen, his dad, and unfortunately Vlad. As expected when we showed up back at home he was playing all innocently concerned but I knew better. I just glared at him and to my surprise, a thin sheet of frost formed at his feet which resulted in Vlad slipping and falling flat on his face which made me smirk since that's what he gets for being such a huge asshole.

Karma's a bitch!

Once Vlad 'recovered' enough I noticed him downstairs a lot in the lab helping my dad with their latest project, a new high tech battle suit but knowing him he was just speeding things along so one of them would use it and become more cannon fodder to keep our enemies away from me. Vlad was also trying to avoid me too which was fine by me. As much as I wanted to keep a close eye on him, there was still a lot I needed to do so next up was figuring out what to do about the situation with Vallen once and for all because I knew, once I told him the truth, no amount of overshadowing would erase the truth from his memories this time. So the question is, was I ready to commit to trusting Vallen over Vlad to help me fix this...?


	49. Ceasefire

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **To _"GiselleVera"_ naw, I was so flattered that you like my genderbent Princess Dorathea, aka Prince Dorian, that I updated his artwork over on my Deviantart and tumblr! And sure, since he's not paired with anyone officially you may have him with my blessing! Just make sure to take good care of him, lolz!

Anyways, at some point I really need to write more princely/charming characters like him because lots of people have told me I'm pretty good at them in some other stories of mine in another fandom, I just don't since I have a thing for suave eloquent villains and I end up writing fanfics focused more on those guys finding redeeming qualities.

* * *

Chapter 49: Ceasefire

(Chapter inspired by War by Poets Of The Fall)

* * *

Vallen's POV

_A little earlier..._

Considering what happened the last time I met Phantom, I'm kinda surprised she seemed so eager to ask for my help again. But at the same time, I'm grateful she returned the favor by helping me out too. When I lost sight of Dani while Diana and her buddies tried to beat up her and her friends over a stupid shirt I panicked and assumed the worst. I had to get out of there and find Dani before those ghosts hurt her or straight up killed her to get back the ring! While I was trying to get away from the others I literally had to deck one of my former jock friends directly in the face, which judging from the scream and the nasty cracking sound I heard probably broke his nose, when he got in my way.

He managed to get a few good hits in while I was distracted since I wasn't going to waste time on fancy karate moves when Dani needed me. That's when some of the skeletons reached us before I could get too far once he finally let go of me to nurse his bleeding nose and did the smart thing of running for cover like the rest of them. Well, except for Trish and Sam, they stayed and started frantically looking for Dani too and for me since I kinda ran off without telling them. But there wasn't enough time!

I barely had time to activate my suit before a couple of skeletons tackled me hissing in these oddly echo-y raspy voices _'the ring, surrender the ring'_ and stuff like that. Since they weren't trying extra hard to subdue me I assumed they couldn't actually tell if I had it or not and seemed to only be blindly following orders which was good news for me. There may be a lot of them, but these skeletons were basically mindless drones so they'd be easy to trick...

And more importantly, easy to take down!

Good thing too since I was definitely bruised up from a few punches the jocks managed to land on me and sore but for the most part I managed to carve my way through the skeletons just fine once I had enough room to activate one of my guns and then eventually my hoverboard. I was able to put some distance between myself and the skeletons after that when I spotted a ghost sent flying through the walls and none other than Phantom was chasing after them to launch another attack.

I frowned when I saw a glimpse of how furious she was when I thought, _Wait, could that ghost be the one who..._

Honestly, all I really remember from the last time Phantom and I met is that I consoled her after someone she trusted showed an uglier side to themselves and basically tried to, well, rape her from what I can tell. And I'll never tell anyone about this part, but I kinda also remember projecting my feelings for Dani on Phantom when I looked into her bright green eyes and then I imagined kissing her. It was wrong, like, in SO many ways but at the same time in that moment, she reminded me so much of Dani and the fact that I wanted to protect her that I couldn't help it!

It's like, I wanted to show her a kinder side of love this other guy -or ghost- hadn't shown and imagined being much gentler. I mean, I'm a guy so I feel what I feel but rationally I know that wasn't the right time and it was cruel of me to even think that way when the ghost girl had been through something even a ghost would have been traumatized by.

After that, I guess I was too in shock to process what the hell I was just thinking so I hastily made up an excuse to leave and somehow made it home then immediately crashed and woke up the next morning wishing that part had been a dream. But at least I never ACTUALLY tried to kiss the ghost girl and had a pretty nice dream about the actual Dani instead. Regardless, it looked like Phantom, for whatever reason seemed to trust me more after that which is why even though I was a bit more skeptical about it I needed answers. Besides, if she felt like herself enough to be fighting ghosts again I had to assume Phantom felt more like herself again anyway.

Well, that and punching that ghost in the face was probably cathartic for her.

Too bad she didn't make it that far when he caught her and tossed Phantom to the ground, after that I guess I decided that the best way to help Dani was to get answers so first I needed to catch Phantom and demand to know what was going on. We knew a ghost invasion was coming because of some ring Vlad gave her, but why? What exactly does it even do...?

The rest we pretty much already know.

I teamed up with Phantom after she actually admitted she's the one who stole the ring from Dani's room, but after hearing she also saved Dani made me feel better about my choice to hear her out. I wasn't about to blindly trust her, not by a long shot, but as long as Phantom was serious about wanting to help I'm ok with that.

And I...I think she saved my life too because the last thing I remember is dive-bombing that Fright Knight ghost and then I must've gotten knocked out. I felt like shit and don't remember how I got here but waking up to see Dani's worried face was a huge relief.

If it wasn't for the fact that my dad was also in the room finishing up with a bandage on my arm where a skeleton's sword nicked me I would have said to hell with not forcing my feelings on Dani and kissed her on the spot. I was so happy she was safe and that she wasn't hurt so even if that was only thanks to the ghost girl that made me feel a thousand times better. And now that I had the ring, maybe Vlad could help me figure out what to do with it to get all the ghosts to leave without letting its power actually fall into the wrong hands because I for one don't like the sound of an even bigger bad called the King of All Ghosts.

* * *

Danielle's POV

Once I was sure Vallen was being taken care of, the first thing I did was track down Sam and Trish to -once again- catch them up to speed on what was going on. And this time, even though Trish used to think Vlad was cool too and was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt she scowled too when she heard what he did. Not only did Vlad have the GALL to show up and act like nothing was wrong but he tried to force me to go with him and expected me to actually listen to ANYTHING he had to say after feeding me all those lies. Even if what he said about the Ring of Rage and the Ghost King IS true, Vlad should have thought about telling me the truth before doing all this in the first place if he was so worried about putting me in danger...

By trying to make ghosts fear us by waking up and defeating the Ghost King together, which I assume is his plan, Vlad WILLINGLY put me in the line of fire knowing I still had the ring and he obviously wasn't afraid of beating me into submission or knocking me out probably to get me to safety. Vlad might not want to hurt me, but oh boy, I WANTED to hurt him as much as he hurt me which isn't like me at all. But I feel so angry and hurt that it's hard to tell how much of this blind rage is because of the ring's effects on me and how much was just how I honestly felt.

And at this point, does it even matter...?

One way or another I'm not going down without a fight this time. If Vlad wants me out of the way so badly he WILL have to fight back whether he wants to or not because I'm not holding back anymore. I don't care if he's stronger and still more experienced, Vlad is going to regret betraying me like this and unless something changes, I might have to embrace the possibility that things were truly over between us.

I've been feeling...strange ever since I attacked Vlad. Like there's the cold weight on my chest but its not unpleasant, its just sorta there. I almost felt stronger because it was relatively easy to carry that weight and there was a wall blocking off Vlad's feelings from me which is actually a bit of a relief. I couldn't keep second-guessing myself when I sensed how guilty and hurt he felt by my cruel words, I couldn't let my feelings for him sway me this time to back down and try to fix things between us.

HE'S the one who needs to fix things, not me. HE'S the one who decided to do all this and pushed me away. And it hurt all the more knowing that and its part of the reason why I've been unconsciously relying on Vallen so much lately. I can't explain it but it's like there's this new connection between that makes me wonder...can soulmates change? Like, if that bond is broken between two people or ghosts is it possible for someone else to fill the gap? Or am I just fooling myself into thinking there's something there because I was desperate for someone to turn to, to talk to, and open my heart to again now that Vlad had broken it...?

Realizing I had kinda left them hanging while thinking about all this I sighed and looked at Sam and Trish again before I asked in all seriousness, "Anyways, the point is Vlad fucked up big time and regardless of our own drama I need your help to fix it. I have a plan but we've gotta act fast. There's also the Vallen thing-"

"You did mention something about that and we saw him run off to find you after you slipped away to go ghost but seriously, how did Vallen expect to help with only his karate? I mean I agree he's totally badass but, just look at him!" Trish exclaimed in a hushed but worried tone when we peeked around the corner where Vallen was laying on the couch covered in bandages here and there. "And if you didn't have ghost powers that could have been you!"

"No, no that's just it," I explained, resting a hand on her shoulder, "We're actually lucky Vallen only got a little banged up considering how many people he fought and then skeleton's to try to get to me even though I'd already transformed but listen. Vallen's the Red Hunter! THAT'S what I've been trying to tell you guys! Vlad gave him ghost fighting gear to turn him into like...a secret bodyguard and someone to help divide the work of ghost hunting until he gets a team together at Axion Labs. I may not like it, but that suit probably saved his life because Vallen even went head to head with the Fright Knight himself. That's why I think...I think we can trust him with my secret."

"Dani, are you CRAZY?!" Sam glowered, still keeping his voice hushed too and shooting Vallen a dirty look before focusing back on me. "Even if he IS the Red Hunter didn't you tell us he's shot at you a few times too? How is that any different from your parents? And I don't see you leaping at the chance to tell THEM you're half-ghost."

With a strange eerie calm settling over me I answered coldly, "Well, I trust him more than Vlad so why not? Vallen really wants to protect everyone in this town so I don't see what the problem is. And he can fight...that's all that matters..."

"Dani? What's wrong with your eyes...they're-" Trish began and I blinked, shivering again after my eyes flashed a cold icy blue and I shook my head.

"I...I'm fine. Sorry about that," I apologized, pulling my hand away when she shivered too, "Wow, that sounded really cold even coming from me. I guess I should have warned you guys about that too. I don't know how to explain it but I feel different somehow and I think its because the Ring of Rage was touching my bare skin in ghost form when I was wearing it around my neck under the suit. I wasn't exactly wearing it on my hand or anything but it looks like just being in contact with it that long awakened a new power from what Vlad calls my ghost core so it looks like I can't fully control it yet. I'll try to be more careful."

Looking over at Sam again who looked just as angry and hurt as I felt when Vlad turned on me, I huffed and continued with a calmer tone, "As for the rest, Sam, Trish, this is bigger than just me or even Vlad at this point. This isn't just one or two powerful ghosts attacking Amity Park that we have to take out, its an ARMY, and I NEED allies if we're going to beat this Pariah Dark guy.

"And since turning to Vlad for help at this point is only a LAST resort since he CAUSED all this I want to try trusting Vallen with my secret so Vlad can't manipulate him anymore. So even if you don't like it, can I ask you to trust me on this Sam? I'm not stupid, I know I'm taking a big risk here and there's always the chance I'll lose Vallen as not only a potential ally, but as a friend, and to tell you the truth that DOES scare me.

"But it's a risk I'm willing to take since I can't do this alone. And I can't ask you two to do more than you're capable of without powers or weapons of your own so I need to know you're on my side no matter what happens and if something goes wrong...you'll do what you can to help keep everyone safe. Even if it means leaving me behind once Pariah Dark shows up."

"Dani...are you sure about this? Is Vallen even strong enough to help when he's all banged up like that and you're still kinda out of it yourself?" Sam asked, finally putting his own feelings aside to hear me out which is a relief.

Staring at my hands as a thin layer of frost formed at the tips, I slowly closed my fingers and said, "We're gonna have to be if any of us expect to get out of this alive, half-ghost or not. But first, we need to find out what the ghosts know about all this and the ring so come on. While Vlad and Vallen are both busy let's go find out what they know. And even if we can't get the other ghosts to talk, I know of at least one who will..."

And with that, while no one was looking I dragged Sam and Trish into the closet nearby, transformed, and phased through the roof while carrying them so we could make our way to one of the places Lance Thunder mentioned being attacked by ghosts during another Emergency Ghost-Watch Broadcast. It's almost funny now that Amity Park even has such a thing since no one can deny anymore that ghosts DO exist. I just hope there's a chance that just maybe, along with Vallen, I could get a few ghostly allies on my side even temporarily so they could reclaim their homes and I could save ours from a similar fate of being taken over by Pariah Dark.


	50. Sovereignty

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **To _"GiselleVera"_ just real quick, if you mean when Vlad was cut off when the Fright Knight showed up he was just about to say Pariah would be unstoppable if he obtained the ring since he already has the crown to focus that infinite ghost energy. Also oops, forgot to leave a warning about extra swearing in the last chapter but meh, I'm getting a bit tired of adding that one and let's face it, a lot more people swear than we care to admit so maybe I'll stick to just warning about gory stuff or the sexy-fun-times chapters. Also, just a heads up but there is going to be a LOT of dialogue and exposition in this chapter so don't expect to see much action...at least not yet.

* * *

Chapter 50: Sovereignty

* * *

Danielle's POV

So long story short since I'm not in the mood to go into too much detail, the ghost I ended up deciding to track down since I wasn't sure where Prince Dorian flew off to with the rest of his subjects was none other than Ember since she's the one who told Skulker to back off and at least told me who I was up against. And when I did find her in a music store she basically took over, I was surprised to see Skulker there too, of all people, and he wasted no time going on the offense and threatened to attack us if I didn't turn around and leave. But I wasn't buying it, I needed answers and I wasn't going to leave without them so to counter his threat I told him to either tell me what was going on himself or I would attack THEM instead.

Rolling my eyes I scoffed, "It's cute that you think you can threaten me now Skulker just because you decided Vlad's demands aren't worth a shit anymore, but let's get one thing straight, I'm not the same ghost girl you fought months ago anymore. I've learned a lot of new tricks since then and one of the more recent ones could REALLY ruin your day since you're wearing a metal battle suit. And I'm eager to find out what the freezing point of metal is-"

"Dani! Will you knock it off and just get to the point already? We need to hurry back before we're missed," Trish reminded me, eyeing Ember warily and blushing when she remembered having to break her spell on all the teens in town with her awful singing voice to one of Embers songs during a concert.

"Fine..." I huffed, giving Skulker another threatening look before adding more on a whim or at least making it appear that way to wound his pride and trick Skulker into spilling the beans, "I suppose if you're not willing to talk to me we can still work something out. You're a good tracker so maybe if you help me find Prince Dorian maybe I'll ask him about all this Pariah Dark stuff since you clearly don't know all that much anyway. And then I promise not to attack unless you attack me or someone else in town. Call it a temporary truce."

Taking the bait, Skulker glowered at me and snarled, "Don't underestimate me whelp! I am the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter so it is my job to know the lay of the land so I can better understand my prey. But in this case, Pariah Dark is a predator that all ghosts should fear and if you were smart you would too!"

I opened my mouth to form a snarky reply when my ghost sense went off again and when I looked up I saw a lot of unexpectedly familiar faces floating nearby and a few I didn't, but my eyes immediately fell on Dorian who had returned to his human form and looked extremely tired and almost resigned as he floated down and placed a hand on Skulker's shoulder to stop him. That was even more surprising given how timid Prince Dorian used to be when I first met him while now, he seemed perfectly capable of giving out orders, asserting himself, and standing up for his allies/friends...

I'm just glad I'm one of them.

"Enough Skulker, did you learn nothing from your earlier exchange with her? Don't be a fool. And besides, perhaps Lady Phantom may be able to help us reclaim what we've lost. I can sense she is already deeply involved with this as there are traces of the ring's power lingering around her. But I do not know why she would be in possession of it unless her companion, this Plasmius was it, gave it to her either knowingly or not what it was meant for." Turning to me once Skulker growled but did as he was told and backed down, Prince Dorian smiled and bowed to me, which earned him an eye roll from Sam but I ignored him and looked at all the ghosts in the room in turn before asking-

"Please, will someone just tell me what the hell is going on? All I've been getting are cryptic messages from all kinds of ghosts including some guy named Nocturne and he-what? Why are you staring at me like that?" I asked when it was like I had just told them the most shocking news in the world.

Breaking the silence, Ember rolled her eyes and snorted, "You really are clueless aren't you? Guess your precious mentor Plasmius screwed up royally if it means Nocturne himself had to get involved. He's part of all this you know, one of the ancient ghosts who sealed Pariah Dark away. Up until the Ghost King suddenly showed up again with his army, most of us thought the guy was a myth, or at least he wouldn't have enough energy left to be a threat to anyone after centuries of being locked up. Anyways, I'll let our scaly friend take it from here since he's the only ghost here old enough to remember what it was like being under Pariah's rule. And let me tell you, you're probably not gonna like hearing it any more than we did."

Sitting down on a large speaker in front of the stage with Ember sitting surprisingly close to Skulker and acting all indifferent while she tuned her guitar, I glanced at Sam and Trish and nodded for them to pull up a seat too so we grabbed whatever we could find nearby and sat down. Once we were settled in Dorian stepped forward and looked at each of us in turn, exhaled deeply and began telling us the whole story-

"Long ago, Pariah Dark claimed dominion of the Ghost Zone when he somehow wrested control over it by imprisoning three of its guardians and enslaved the fourth. He was a ghost of such power and magnitude, he could also control the entities contained within the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage. And when wearing both- he could do anything."

"Wait, what do you mean...entities? You mean the Ring of Rage and this Crown of Fire are like, possessed objects? There's a ghost inside them?" I blurted out, repressing a shiver imagining having a ghost that close to me without realizing it this whole time if that ring was sentient somehow.

"In a way, they do possess some form of sentience but its more that they were created with one purpose in mind because while Pariah did indeed become the next Ghost King, there has always been and always MUST be a Ghost King and they must prove themselves powerful enough to control one or both artifacts as they will not work for or obey just anyone.

"You see, even though the Ghost Zone is by its nature a chaotic realm it once had four guardians that guarded it in the shadows and whose task was to maintain the balance between our world and the Earth and in the distant future they will reunite the two when the End of All Things is at hand. There were also the Ancients and Nocturne is counted among them but that is a story for another time.

"Ordinarily, it is then the Ghost King's duty as the most powerful ghost to directly oversee the Ghost Zone as a whole to ensure that we never begin to war among ourselves. Because if we ever DID begin fighting among ourselves, echoes of our devastating battles for dominance would soon be felt in the human world as well, resulting in weakening the barrier between them and opening hundreds of natural portals, thereby causing distortions in space and time, and other such paradoxes until eventually everything would fall out of balance and beyond repair and both our worlds would be destroyed since they are one and the same. Two sides of the same whole."

"So, there was a Ghost King before Pariah Dark? What...happened to him?" Sam asked, obviously trying not to think about the literal end of the world when we had enough to worry about, but I had a feeling all three of us already knew the answer.

Dorian nodded and I was surprised by the sadness I saw in his eyes as he explained, "The previous Ghost King, while still a force to be reckoned with in his own right was a good man who for whatever reason often treated his charges more like misbehaving children rather than hostile ghosts who were always seeking more power and to claim dominance of one realm or another. He had a rather mischievous streak himself and at times let the conflicts play out for his amusement unless they truly got out of hand, such as a foolish War my brother once waged with the Far Frozen since he wanted to decorate our castle with their stunning white fur after attempting to destroy their clan. But I digress...

"The best way I can describe the previous Ghost King to you is that he was like a strict but fair father figure to all more than he was a king and even the cruelest ghosts among us held him in high regard and begrudgingly respected his authority. But then, one day, he was felled by treachery most foul when Pariah Dark appeared out of nowhere with the Horsemen of Conquest at his side and he began his hostile take over of the entire Ghost Zone. Pariah defeated the previous Ghost King by trapping him in a realm of his worst fear to torment him while he engaging in battle and then, using the power of the stolen Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire taken from him while he lay mortally wounded to coin an old human phrase Pariah destroyed his core and proclaimed himself the new Ghost King."

"A realm of his worst fear...that sounds like what the Fright Knight does! Remember Dani? Last Halloween I was stabbed by his sword to protect you and was sent to that freaky nightmare place. I wasn't in there long but I could tell any second that island was gonna change from a deserted island with no cell phones or other tech to a freaking hospital-" Trish shuttered, but then continued her thoughts, "-I can only imagine what could be bad enough to freak out a ghost though. But, does that mean the Fright Knight was working with him too? And who the hell is this Horsemen of-"

"Oh, shit..." Sam interrupted, his eyes going wide in realization. "Are you seriously trying to tell me that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are GHOSTS!?"

"The whozawhat-now...?" Trish and I blinked, giving Sam a weird look.

Flailing his arms out Sam practically yelled either in excitement or exasperation, "Are you serious? How can you not know about this? Even if I'm all the one who's all about the crazy folklore, mythology, superstitions, and religious stuff and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are like one of the oldest in the book, literally! They're in the freaking Bible for God's sake so almost everyone has at least heard the name! You know that's where _'Death rides on a pale horse'_ comes from, right? Those passages are basically about the end of the world where four riders, one for War, Conquest, Famine, and Death itself would ride in on horseback and then it would be game over for all of us. And if Conquest was somehow blackmailed by Pariah then-"

My eyes widened, "-then the other three are still trapped somewhere in the Ghost Zone to this day and the Fright Knight is actually-!"

"Yes, it is as you say," Dorian nodded in confirmation when we turned to gape at him, "The one you now know as the Fright Knight was once the Horsemen of Conquest himself but he was forced to bend a knee to Pariah and renounce his title when he threatened to destroy the others as he then did the Ghost King. He tricked him into believing that no ghost is invincible, not even the Ancients or the Ghost King if their cores are destroyed.

"However, according to the Ancients themselves, it is nearly impossible for the Four Horsemen to disappear entirely because they are manifestations of the Ghost Zone itself as opposed to beings simply made of ambient ectoplasmic energy or so the legends go. To put it simply this means that their forms can be weakened to a point where it could take centuries for them to reform, but unlike the rest of us who would be lost to oblivion or whatever heaven or hell awaits us if our cores are destroyed, they will always return until the End of All Things.

"But if they are somehow reduced to such a state when they reformed they would not be the same incarnations anymore. And the Fright Knight refused to risk this since they were his brothers in every sense of the word, or as close to kin as a ghost can get who has never been alive and therefore has never had siblings."

"That's such a low blow even for a ghost," Trish commented, "This Pariah guy is one sick bastard if he had the gall to not only blackmail one of these guys into serving him, but he locked up the other guardians too so they couldn't stop him from taking over the whole Ghost Zone and throwing things so out of wack. But then, how did you guys defeat him without the Ghost Zone's actual guardians or whatever?"

"We didn't-" Dorian replied bluntly, "-the Ancients knew they were not powerful enough to defeat him outright so with Nocturne's help they devised a plan to subdue him at the very least to buy us time and they created an artifact known as Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. It was designed to trap Pariah in an eternal dreamless slumber so his influence could not reach the Fright Knight or any of his other servants until the day a powerful enough ghost would emerge with the power to destroy him once and for all. And whoever accomplished this would have to become the next Ghost King.

"The Ancients made many attempts to find the other three guardians, hoping to the restore the Fright Knight to his true purpose, but sadly their efforts were in vain and so the denizens of Ghost Zone were forced to adapt and learn to govern themselves lest we bring about our own doom. And none of us forgot the fear etched into our very souls of what would happen if Pariah Dark was ever freed and sought to outright dominate every ghost in existence. And now...our doom is upon us."

While trying to swallow all that information Ember spoke up and snarled, "That bastard has only been free a day and he's already destroyed our homes looking for that stupid ring of his. Let's face it, this town is probably doomed too so enjoy life while you can, Girlie," she said, nodding at me, "Because not even you are powerful enough to take down the Ghost King by yourself and it'd be stupid of you to even try. The best we can hope for is once Pariah does find the ring he'll go back to the Ghost Zone to gloat and take over like last time and we'll be safe here at least for a little while..."

"Maybe," I admitted but then standing up tall I proclaimed loudly so everyone could hear me, "But the way I see it though we all have something at stake here so as crazy as this may sound I think we should work together to save our homes! It's not too late to fight back and we can't let Pariah get the ring back! I for one don't plan to let him get away with destroying everything I care about and neither should you!

"You've worked hard to get where you are and nothing has ever stopped you from fighting against all odds before, not even against me! That's why I need you dorks to get your act together so you can show me how badass you can really be if you set aside your differences just like the Ancients did. Together I know we can take him down! So what do you say? Let's take back our homes and show Pariah Dark who's REALLY the boss around here!"

I'm not sure what I expected to happen, but hearing them all burst into laughter wasn't one of them and...while I didn't show it I was extremely disappointed. I thought if anything could motivate them getting their homes back would be one of them if nothing else and also the chance to show off their mad skills to the ghost who has beaten most of them multiple times in the past. The only one who didn't laugh was Dorian who rested a hand on my shoulder and smiled sadly.

"That was a very moving speech Lady Phantom, and were it only possible I would join you but I must think of my subjects first as I said before, just as you must think of protecting the living who call Amity Park their home. But if its any consolation, I know how intelligent and brave you are so if anyone can find a way to stop Pariah Dark, it is you. Not to mention you already have one of the Ancients on your side so that has to count for something milady. I sincerely wish you the best of luck and I will be praying for your success and safety," bowing again, Dorian transformed into a dragon once again and phased through the roof with one mighty flap of his wings.

After that, Sam, Trish, and I stood there in stunned silence before I rubbed the back of my neck and laughed nervously as I said, "So uh, looks like its time for plan B then! How do you guys feel about telling Vallen my secret NOW? Because unfortunately, it looks like we might not have a choice since we still need all the help we can get and if what they just told us is true, Vlad might have just triggered the end of OUR world as we know it, even if its only Amity Park."


	51. Vanity

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note:** Sorry guys, I missed a few glaring issues since I'm tired and cranky but since I STILL can't sleep I'll try to fix them.

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Chapter 51: Vanity

_(Chapter inspired by You Suck At Love by Simple Plan)_

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Danielle's POV

When we made it back to the house, I was relieved that everyone assumed I was already in bed or they were still too busy to notice me, but there was something I needed to do now that plan A blew up in my face. Oh, I was still gunning for plan B since I didn't want to do this, but, since I knew Vlad was doing all of this for me I...I had to face him. I had to try to appeal to his good side one last time so as soon as Sam and Trish were taken care of and I told them to grab a snack and try to unwind if they could I waited until I was sure I was alone I went to the guest room to confront him first against my better judgment.

I thought about phasing directly into the room but I didn't want to risk Vlad cornering me like the first time I saw him transform and shooting me himself with another tranquilizer. Even though it made me sick last time I'm sure he's perfected the drug since then and kept it just in case because this is Vlad we're talking about. He is always prepared for ANY eventuality. I'm sure he was even prepared for how pissed off I was so there was no point in tip-toeing around the issue.

This...what Vlad has unleashed is bigger than both of us and for his own sake and everyone else's he needed to cut his losses before they got any worse. I am THIS close to ending it between us for good and to putting him back on the villain list no matter how painful that it for me. Vlad crossed the line again and this time, it wasn't unavoidable.

Bracing myself as much as I could, I knocked softly on his door and blinked when I left a thin layer of ice there which was probably just as well since I wanted him to sense my ghost signature even if our soulmate connection thing was gone. I wasn't surprised to see him already awake and still fully dressed when Vlad opened the door. His eyes betrayed no emotion but still, Vlad smiled at me and invited me into the room but I shook my head.

"Oh no, we're taking this outside so you can't pull any of your usual shit either trying to tempt me or shooting me full of ghost-sedatives. Follow me," I told him, not waiting for a reply as I transformed then flew down the hall and floated down to the front of the house, leaning against the Specter Speeder.

I crossed my arms, trying not to let my anger or nerves get the better of me but I did flinch when Vlad teleported directly in front of me in his ghost form and with his hands behind his back he asked innocently, "You wanted to talk to me, my dear? And here I thought we weren't on speaking terms."

My eyes flashed an icy blue and I hissed, "Beyond this we're not, Plasmius. So don't you dare play coy with me! I just found out what's really going on, what you're planning, and it ends now."

"Really?" Vlad scoffed, unable to resist toying with me despite how serious this was, "You know what I'm up to? Your tiny teen mind has pieced together the rest of my plot?"

"You mean how you stole the ring, gave it to me to hide it in advance, woke the Ghost King using a replica of it you made and then gave it to Vallen to use him as a diversion so you could then steal the real ring back from me to make sure I'd be safe and planned to convince the Fright Knight to consider joining forces with you against Pariah since you know he's actually supposed to be one of the four guardians of the Ghost Zone, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse known as Conquest?" I summarized in a single breath.

Smiling more genuinely Vlad replied curtly, "Well done Danielle, I'm surprised you took the initiative to use what little information you had to figure out the rest that quickly. Then again, I was hardly hiding it from you. The signs were already there from the moment I openly revealed how the ring was any part of this otherwise you would have taken much longer to piece it together."

Leaning down closer he whispered, "In other words, you still have much to learn. The only reason you know any of this is because I WANTED you to know. Think what you may, but I am doing this for you and before the end, you'll thank me for putting an end to your struggles against ghosts interfering with your life once and for all."

Hurt by the cold condescending tone he was using, I surprised him by cupping my hands around his cheeks since Vlad was already standing this close to me and said, "I know, I know you think you're doing this for me but you couldn't be more wrong. You're only doing this for yourself. You're doing this because you're afraid of losing me but Vlad...if you don't come back to me now you may have lost me already."

Resting my forehead against his I sighed shakily, "I don't want that. I don't want you to become my enemy but if I have to choose between you and saving the lives of my friends and family, I'm going to choose them. They didn't ask for this any more than I did. I was content with what we had even though it wasn't always perfect I believed you when you told me it would be a work in progress and I still had my whole life ahead of me. But you...you chose the easy way out by using force just like back then. I hate seeing you like this so please, I'm not going to ask again. Will you drop all this nonsense and help me stop Pariah Dark before it's too late?"

I felt a familiar shiver run up my spine when Vlad reached up and laced his fingers with mine, his pupil-less red eyes gazing lovingly into mine but...that expression told me his answer. Vlad resigned himself to it being already too late. He didn't care anymore if I hated him, Vlad just wanted to do what he thought was right and to see this through to the end and it shattered my heart into a million pieces. I didn't even realize I was crying until I felt them freeze to my face when another raw emotion suddenly consumed me-

Resentment, that's what I was feeling. I suddenly hated Vlad more than I've hated anyone before in my life because he's the person I loved the most who betrayed me like it was nothing just because I'm young and he assumes I'll grow out of it. He was the most selfish person alive next to my parents but at least they have an excuse when it comes to their obsessions taking over everything else in their lives. Vlad told me I mattered more to him than anything, that he loved me, that he'd never hurt me or betray my trust and yet here we stood with ice forming all around me in a weak whirlwind gathering strength as I let the last embers of hope I had left for Vlad wither and die and replaced them once more with an impenetrable wall of ice.

With my hands still glued to his face by his own hands, I snarled and then launched myself up to hit him in the stomach with my knee which sent him skidding across the pavement. And before he could recover I slammed my fist into his face and sent him crashing into a nearby billboard. Since Vlad was already in ghost form and like I already guessed, fully recovered from his scuffle with the Ghost King and his underling the Fright Knight, it didn't hurt him as much as I'd hoped. In fact, Vlad was smiling brightly at me and said-

"Sneak attack, very good Danielle. I've taught you well it seems," hating the fact that even now, even now his words cut through me like a knife I shouted and launched myself at him again, grabbing him by the collar and slamming Vlad's body into the football field back at Casper High.

I didn't even know I'd dragged him that far or that fast but it hardly mattered, I let the cold feeling of resentment grip my heart like a vice in the hopes it would numb me to everything else, including my desire to make Vlad proud of me despite all this. But the thing is, Vlad was proud of me for all the wrong reasons! And he made this even more apparent by what he said next with a cruel laugh of delight...

"Good Danielle very good. It's about time you learned to fight back! I told you before that defending will only get you so far and it will never teach your enemies to fear you or put them in their place. My dear, one thing you must learn to accept is that sometimes if you don't act first, you won't ever get the chance to before someone cuts you down on the spot. Sometimes, you have to break a bone for it to reset properly and that is precisely what I have done-"

Gripping my forearms, with an almost crazed look Vlad continued, "-you have been trapped in this vicious cycle of uncertainty for too long and that is why I decided to put an end to because I don't want to see you wasting your time on the rest of these worthless ingrates!"

Using the grip he had on my forearms Vlad flung me a few feet behind him after vaulting me over his head and while I was getting my bearings again Vlad complained resentfully, "No matter how much you improve at school it's never enough for Jack and Maddie and they slip into their old habits of being too harsh, and all these ghosts...just because I haven't actively made good on my threats for your sake they think they can get away with attacking you non-stop when I'm not with you! But it has to stop Danielle! You know it as well as I do!"

"You want to stop ghosts from attacking me?" I spat venomously, glancing over at the Soul Shredder when I noticed how close I was to it and closed my fingers around the hilt, forgetting the fact that it was still the source of the ghost shield trapping us in Amity Park. "THEN STOP PROVOKING THEM LIKE MY PARENTS DO AND GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE LONG ENOUGH TO HELP ME FIGHT THEM YOURSELF, YOU SELFISH BASTARD!"

His eyes widening in horror when I grabbed the hilt of the sword Vlad warned in an alarmed voice, "Danielle, NO! The sword is a signal! Let go of it this instant!"

Still too angry to process what he was saying I leered at him and replied cruelly, "NO! I'm done listening to you Plasmius! You said sometimes you have to make the first move, to fight back, well this IS me fighting back to make you STOP DECIDING EVERYTHING YOURSELF! If you won't listen to me and stop this bullshit, then I'll MAKE YOU!"

Vlad tried to teleport to my side to stop me but it was over the split second I pulled the sword from the ground and the earth started to shake all around us. That's what finally shook me out of my blind rage and I watched in horror as the dome began to crack and instead of seeing the night sky and the stars...I saw the swirling green abyss of the Ghost Zone. We were...trapped in the Ghost Zone!

My fingers went numb and the sword, instead of falling from my limp fingers onto the grass, it flew up and was grabbed by the Fright Knight and when I looked down, the skeletons had begun moving again and I staggered back. "No, no, what did I just do?! We're-!"

Grabbing my shoulders firmly Vlad warned hastily, "It's too late now Danielle, we have to get out of here before- GRAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The next thing I knew, a large figure appeared before us, announcing that we had just surrendered and then Vlad and I both screamed as a white-hot pain wracked our bodies and we instantly collapsed in a crumpled heap at the feet of none other than Pariah Dark himself. But as far as I was concerned, the world had just ended in every sense of the word before I could do what I was supposed to and save it. I failed everyone, including Vlad, because I let my feelings get the better of me and now Amity Park was truly doomed after all to fall into the same endless darkness and despair I now found myself drowning in.

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Vallen's POV

Despite still feeling like crap I was startled awake from my nap on the living room sofa by shouting just outside Dani's house and low and behold, I saw Phantom there fighting the same vampire-looking ghost from earlier. That seemed like a really bad idea to me to be fighting in front of here of all places, aka a house full of ghost hunters, so I decided to find out what was going on and to make them stop before anyone else noticed the two ghosts.

For all I knew it could just be a lovers spat if that guy was the ghost who pushed things too far with Phantom, but if not he could be an enemy and I'd rather take care of him now while I'm still in decent shape. I followed them for a while until they ended up back in the football field, waiting for my chance to strike him down without hitting Phantom since she was my ally for now at least but then all hell broke loose and in the thick of it all she pulled out the sword and then, the dome above us started cracking and I had to dodge a couple of pieces of it, losing sight of them and down below I saw that the skeletons were starting to move again!

I didn't have time to deal with them though let alone the energy so I reoriented myself and went back to looking for the ghost Phantom was fighting when- "DANI!" I exclaimed, my eyes going impossibly wide when I saw her and Vlad being held up by one hand above the ground.

_But I thought, I thought she only went to talk to Vlad when I couldn't find her in her room but why were they out here unprotected?! Has Vlad gone completely insane bringing her out here without telling any of us?!_ Shaking my head I flew as fast as I could to save them before they were killed since Phantom and the other ghost had probably been captured after that while I was busy dodging chunks of a ghost shield. In the distance, I heard Dani's parents announcing to the city what was happening but I couldn't care less, I had to get to her and Vlad before it was too late!

I caught the last bit that Ghost King said before I used the element of surprise and shot goop in his eyes before activating one of my guns and shooting at him, but he deflected it with a ray of his own from the eyes and followed after me until I accidentally crashed into the football goal. Grimacing I raised my arm again to shoot and it shorted out on me, burning my arm so I hissed in pain and hastily reached into my pocket for a grenade or smoke bomb something to help me fight back with and rescue them.

That's when a pair of rings slipped out of my pocket and then, as soon as that Fright Knight creep saw it his eyes widened and he ordered, "The Ring! Return it to the King now!"

Remembering what Vlad said before about them being after the ring, I snatched them up and reached for another gun in my pack instead, loading both rings in the barrel and hoping they wouldn't be able to go after both at once since only one of them was real. But now not even I could tell since the one Phantom gave me looked exactly like the replica Vlad gave me.

Either way, with a smirk I shouted, "You want it, tough guy? Then fetch!"

Just as I hoped, as soon as the rocket launched the Ghost King himself flew off after them just leaving me and the Fright Knight along with Dani and Vlad collapsed on the ground. I made a mad dash for them while the Fright Knight was looking after his King to snatch them so we could get under the other ghost shield Dani's parents put up to keep these ghosts OUT instead of them keeping us IN Amity Park.

I just barely grabbed Dani and Vlad in time before the Fright Knight flew after me on his flaming winged monster horse but I was out of weapons and needed to focus on getting out alive. My ribs were still sore from being punched a few times before when defending Dani from Diana and her jock lackies but this...this was a matter of life and death! Whatever Vlad had been thinking, it was stupid for him to bring her out here but he must have had a reason.

I'd have to ask him once we escaped from the Fright Knight and he woke up. But I already had my hands full carrying them by the backs of their shirts and flying while dodging the Fright Knight's attacks and sadly, he managed to hit the side of my hoverboard and we were sent crashing to the ground. As long as we made it through the shield though we'd be safe! Dani would be safe! So with what little control I had I aimed my board at just the right angle and then, when we hit the three of us were sent skidding a few feet but I sighed in relief when I saw a wall of green between us and the angry ghost slashing at us with his sword.

He was shouting things at me but my ears were still ringing and the most I could do was sling Dani over my shoulder and drag Vlad back inside to safety, fighting against the dizziness threatening to overtake me. But somehow, I made it back to Dani's room in one piece, carefully laid her on the bed and then sat Vlad in a chair before sagging against the nearest wall, thanking my lucky stars that they were alive.

"I...I hope I did the right thing, Vlad, Dani. Because if not then I...might have just..." closing my eyes I lost my trail of thought and drifted off into darkness, relieved that at the very least we were safe for now. As for the rest, I knew whatever happened was very bad, but hopefully I'd bought us at least a little more time getting rid of that ring. After all, there was no way they'd be able to find something THAT small so fast...

...Right?


	52. Ultimatum

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

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Chapter 52: Ultimatum

(Chapter inspired Heaven Or Hell by Digital Daggers)

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Danielle's POV

__I knew I had to be dreaming because what I was seeing couldn't be real, or at least it wasn't the present. I saw four horseback riders in full armor although only one really stood out to me since I recognized him as the Fright Knight. The only real difference with him was that his horse, Nightmare, didn't have wings and there were more flames along its head and neck to make up for not having a horn, hell even its fangs were shorter! __

__As for the other three riders, they were wearing similar armor as the Fright Knight except for one rider who wore what looked like a long tattered robe and I could only assume that was Death's rider. Otherwise, they all had helms with a different colored flame to match their loyal steeds and their own weapons such as a lance, a scythe, a bow, and a sword. And sadly, I already knew the sword all too well...__

__As for their ghost horses, the other three were very different from Nightmare too and again, from what Sam told me about their lore the horse Conquest rode was supposed to be white but instead, War's horse was the white one so I guess whoever recorded their existence got their facts mixed up. War's horse was pure white with a blood-red mane and a short tail and its hooves glowed red hot like metal in the process of being forged, even its eyes looked like they were smoldering flames. Famine's horse was a sickly green color with a long oily mane and tail that reminded me of a zombie or worse, like the Banshee's Kelpie pets and there was a noxious green mist snaking around their hooves that looked pretty toxic to anyone who came too close. And finally, Death's horse was a bit more classic with a horse skull face, and this pale misty teal mane and tail that floated ethereally around it and its front legs were made of transparent energy that let you see straight through to the bones beneath.__

__It was weird, seeing them all in one place and it almost looked like they were...training together or something. I could see the Fright Knight and War, since I don't know if they have any other names, and the two of them were jousting on one end of a large courtyard I don't think exists anymore around the Fright Knight's lair while the remaining two were on the other end with cleaning their weapons which was really bizarre.__

__They seemed to be enjoying each other's company from what I could tell so it was jarring when the scene suddenly changed and I heard the pained shriek of their horses as their riders were captured and thrown in chains. Or, at least two of them were. As for the robed one, Death, he managed to escape at least long enough to search for his brother who he didn't know had been twisted into an entirely different ghost who had no choice but to obey the usurper who destroyed the previous Ghost King.__

__Death and the Fright Knight fought but as expected the Soul Shredder didn't work on him because Death has nothing to fear since dying is what almost every living thing is afraid of but not a ghost who embodies that very idea and guides the weary dead to their final rest outside of the Ghost Zone. During their battle though, Death stopped fighting and whispered something in the Fright Knight's ear before an armored hand reached out of the shadows from behind, grabbed their head, and crushed it into dust like it was nothing but brittle sandstone.__

__I winced when I saw it, especially when Pariah laughed evilly and in a thick accented voice said, "Now you know I was destined to be the new King, for I have conquered even the proxy of Death himself! Nothing can stand in my way! And you, you will forever serve me for all eternity and if that fool is smart they'll stay in hiding. I have long since imprisoned your brother's Famine and War and with you at my side, none shall withstand my fury. I shall rule all of the Ghost Zone through fear and this unlimited power!"__

__From there, everything was a blur of horrible battles, of ghosts fleeing in terror, and to my surprise, even an entire clan of ghost dragons was wiped out which forced the rest to flee and I could have sworn one of them looked like Prince Dorian but, that would mean he HAD tried to fight Pariah before and lost. I could be wrong though. Either way, the destruction and chaos I saw was devastating so its no wonder ghosts were scared of him even now, even when it seemed like everyone was under his rule it was never enough so Pariah Dark ventured out to claim more and more domains and put them under his banner until a bunch of robed ghosts in red with a skull pining them in place rose up against him. __

__At first it seemed like their efforts were pointless until Nocturne appeared out of nowhere and began looming behind Pariah as a huge shadow, using his power to weaken him with a sleeping spell as much as he could so that when the others attacked him together it was enough to knock him out. And once they were sure he was down, they removed the ring from his hand. They tried to remove the crown too but it burned anyone who tried to take it, reminding them that while they had subdued Pariah, they had not defeated him so one of them could become the new Ghost King...__

__So they were forced to wait for someone who could finally defeat him...__

__As time went on it was just like in Dorian's story. While they managed to seal him away everyone soon forgot the truth about what finally stopped Pariah Dark's reign of terror and these ancient ghosts faded into legend. But Nocturne remained in his lair, watching the dreams of humans and ghosts alike waiting for some sign, some hint that the one they've been waiting for was finally here to end what they began.__

__And that's when it happened, something that seemed to make the entire Ghost Zone quiver when a hole was torn open between this world and Earth, and a familiar face was seen gaping at the swirling green vortex in front of him. It was Vlad, a much younger Vlad but I knew it was him. But all too soon the hole closed again and when Nocturne visited that man's dreams in the human world he only found hatred and darkness in his future so sadly, he wasn't the one destined to save the Ghost Zone as Nocturne had hoped.__

__Years passed, and every so often Nocturne still visited Vlad's dreams and did his best to show him glimpses of happiness to help this strange being find a way to fill the emptiness he felt growing in his heart each day he spent alone in that empty castle, wishing for more in life even though he already had so much. That's when another ripple seemed to shake the foundations of the Ghost Zone when a second hole was torn open leading to the human world but that one stayed open...and inside of it was-__

_"_Me..." I breathed softly, watching my accident happen all over again but from outside of my own body this time. "That's the day I became half-ghost and everything changed."__

_"_Yes, and unlike with the elder halfa, I could sense that your heart was pure and just, despite being young and inexperienced. But you have come a long way my child, much further I think than Vladimir wants to acknowledge because the idea of no longer being needed, being loved, scares him more than death itself. And Death has been closer to you than either of you realize, guiding your actions just as I have," Nocturne explained, waving his hand and ending the vision so I didn't have to finish re-experiencing that horrible memory when the portal nearly killed me.__

_"_Sometimes, it takes a brush with death to put your life in perspective and as half-ghosts, you possess something that Pariah Dark has long forgotten. You have your humanity, the ability to change and grow and become far more powerful than he is if you unleash your full potential. Vladimir can bring out that part of you himself as your soulmate, and you can likewise unleash his, but now that you have closed your heart to him that is impossible so we will have to rely on Death's help..."__

__Nodding I turned to Nocturne and as much as I hated to say it, his warning did help me so I was about to say so when something else caught my attention and I thought, "Wait, so that means Pariah Dark lied. He didn't capture all three Horsemen, he changed Conquest into the Fright Knight, and if Death was destroyed and spent all this time reforming into a new incarnation then what does that mean? Has he been laying in wait this whole time or...?"__

_"_I already told you, my child," Nocturne explained, gently holding my chin in his clawed hand, "Your brush with death was all he needed to set things into motion and from there he has left the rest to you just as I have. You and Vladimir are to an extent his Reapers, you send the dead back to where they belong to give them a chance to choose a new course or to pass on properly and Vladimir destroys them when necessary as he did with the one known as Freak Show. But now, since you have lost your connection to Vladimir you must seek him out when you awaken and let Death call forth the deathly chill you've already begun to awaken within as your final weapon against Pariah Dark..."__

* * *

Bolting upright, I woke with a start when my ghost sense went off and when I looked around, I was back in my bedroom and to make matters worse, Vallen was leaning against the wall unconscious and he looked awful. Guilt knotted in the pit of my stomach as I approached him and brushed back his hair. I was relieved he made it out of there alive and saved me and Vlad somehow but this shouldn't have happened. As much as I wanted Vallen to help it was just too risky at this point. And with Vlad off who knows where I was officially on my own.

Well, aside from my two best friends who suddenly burst into the room two seconds later and once again I told them everything that I saw and what happened to us. It felt weird telling them about my dream, especially the part about Death being involved with how Vlad and I ended up half-ghost if I understood Nocturne right or maybe it was more like he recognized that our unique nature might give us an edge on the Ghost King that no normal ghost has. Either way, with Vallen officially down for the count plan B was also a bust so all that was left was to follow Nocturne's advice and look for Death's hideout...

"Geez Dani, can you say _'suicide mission?'_" Trish laughed nervously, "Are you telling me that we're supposed to scour the Ghost Zone for one of the only Four Horsemen not locked up somewhere and hope that he'll help you unlock this fancy new ice power that's only showing up now since the Ring of Rage gave your power a boost earlier than normal?"

"Not we, ME, I have to do this on my own. Look, I got us into the mess so it's my job to get us out again and I need you two here in case I don't make it back. You're the only ones who know the truth and can tell my parents how to stop the Ghost King otherwise and get everything back to normal," grabbing their wrists, I phased the three of us through the floor and looked over at the Ecto-Suit, explaining, "And if push comes to shove, I want you to tell Vallen everything and see if he can pilot my parents Ecto-Suit. Because no offense but if anyone stands a fighting chance against the Ghost King, it's him."

"Um...Danny, I think Vlad has other ideas, look!" Sam pointed and sure enough, Vlad was hastily tinkering with the suit to make some last-minute adjustments.

It was unsettling that I hadn't even noticed him until he actually stepped into view but once I did I snarled, "Back away from the suit Vlad. You've done enough damage so now I have to fix it. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have gotten so pissed off and pulled that sword out to prove a point! Seriously, don't make me hurt you."

"You mean hurt me more than you already have Danielle?" Vlad glowered, wincing slightly and hugging his ribs, "I must admit you did put up a good fight before and I was unprepared for such ferocity on your part but I know better now. Once I put on this suit neither you nor Pariah will be powerful enough to stop me and I WILL become the next Ghost King! Only then will you finally be safe from ghost attacks forever and finally be happy! A happiness that will last this time!"

"Dude, you are so pathetic," Sam said, taking a step towards Vlad. "You've spent all this time helping Dani and getting to know her and you're still such a clueless bastard. Life isn't about being happy all the time. Sometimes shit happens and when it does you support each other. She never wanted you to fix all her problems for her! Dani wanted you to be the only person in this goddamn world who understands what it's like being caught in the middle of two worlds! And now, because of you all of us might lose this stupid game you're playing."

"Yeah seriously, do yourself a favor and just give up," Trish added slightly more sympathetically, but not much since she was still frowning at him, "Dani's a lot stronger than you think she is and unless you want her to prove it by bashing your face in again you'd better listen for once. None of us want you to be the bad guy but this isn't about what we want anymore, it's about what we have to do to survive. And Dani is our only chance. I believe in her, just like you should have..."

Smiling at my friends, I let go of Trish's wrist too and approached Vlad, this time not closing the distance between us before warning, "This is your third strike Vlad. If you don't move right now it's over. No matter what the outcome of all this is, I will never speak to you again, train with you, nothing. I will be cutting you completely out of my life. So, what's more important to you Vlad? Me? Or becoming the Ghost King? Because if what I learned is true we would never be able to share the crown. Whoever becomes the next Ghost King...will rule there alone. Forever."


	53. Rectify

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: Warning, mentions of depressing/suicidal, and violent thoughts ahead!** Phew, I finally got over my writer's block since I wasn't sure how to do this without Danielle relying too much on Vlad if they teamed up again so wait til you see what I came up with! Also, prepare your tissue boxes because this chapter gets very emotional! And after this, there shouldn't be that many chapters left since we're about to reach the climax so I hope you've enjoyed the journey so far and will see it through to the end!

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Chapter 53: Rectify

(Chapter inspired by Take Care of You by Ella Henderson)

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Vlad's POV

Alone.

If I ever had to admit to a single fear, that is what it would be; to find myself alone in this wretched world just like I was when my life shattered all around me after the accident that left me rotting in a hospital bed for years. Up until this very moment I tried to convince myself I didn't care anymore about what I might have to sacrifice to keep Danielle safe. However, if there is any truth to her claim about the condition attached to dethroning the Ghost King and taking his crown, it could mean that I really was on the verge of losing Danielle forever in more ways than one...

While Danielle has openly expressed her fury and frustration with me and attacked me several times, there's no denying that there's still this veiled desperation in her eyes that made me doubt the decisions I've made and whether any of this was worth the risk of breaking Danielle's heart in order to keep it beating. Even without our bond as soulmates, I knew she was still holding out hope that I would open my eyes and stop this madness before its too late. But...wasn't it already too late? Or am I deluding myself into believing the only reason I'm doing any of this is because I see it as the only way to protect her rather than the thought of losing Danielle forever as a fate worse than death since I cannot bear the thought of ending up utterly alone in this world all over again?

_How...how can Danielle still be willing to give me another chance? After everything I've done, after what I almost did to her in a moment of fearful desperation, she should have long since given up on me! I was prepared for that, I was prepared to become the villain in order to do whatever it takes to secure a future for us no matter what the cost-_ biting my lip and not caring that my fang had cut it and drawn blood, I remembered the vision Nocturne had shown me and his words reverberated in my mind with such clarity it was like he was in this very room.

He knew. All along Nocturne knew Danielle and I were destined to meet and that this meeting would lead us to this moment of truth where I would have to decide between pursuing ultimate power or her love which is the only thing worth a damn in my miserable life anymore. Back then, when Jack and Maddie betrayed me there were days when I lost hope and wanted to curl up and die when the agony and loneliness became unbearable. And yet somehow, this feeling of incompleteness I could never quite grasp kept me going because I refused to die and be forgotten by the world since no one was left in my life to remember that I ever lived in the first place or leave flowers at my grave.

I honestly used to believe it was actually my thirst for vengeance that gave me the drive and will I needed to go on. I believed it was that drive to turn my weakness into power so that no one could take what was important from me that kept me grounded. But now I know it was all because I was always waiting to meet her. To meet Danielle, my one true love whose radiance is blinding and where it counts she is so much stronger than I am. Danielle's not afraid anymore to stand up for what she believes in, for WHO she believes in, so it has taken all this for me to make her faith in me waver this much even after I killed a man twice over to save her from his dark magic...

Danielle, even now she still cares too much and I can tell it hurts her deeply to have to be forced to decide between doing the right thing and reaching out her hand to save me from myself. But I...I'm not the one who needs to be saved! She is! And I just- I've grown so tired of watching Danielle constantly throw her happiness away so readily to keep everyone else happy!

Even so, the mere thought of being trapped in the Ghost Zone forever and ruling without her at my side, to never feel Danielle's tender caress again or see her gentle loving smile and erasing any chance of the future I saw of Danielle finally becoming mine and giving her the chance to live out her dreams of reaching for the stars was too much! Ever since the day Danielle came into my life I can't help but feel completely lost without her; and when I scared her away that horrible feeling only grew worse and it's taken all of my self-restraint not to kidnap my beloved and lock her away from the world so no one or nothing could take her from me-

But I can't live like this anymore! I can't keep pushing Danielle away even if it's for her own good because I know I'm acting like such a monster! Because if I do I will be throwing away all the joy she has given me, a joy I would sooner die for than give up now despite everything.

Making up my mind, without giving them any time to react I teleported directly in front of Danielle, and in a single fluent movement I wrapped my arm around her and held her close to my chest while using my other arm to conceal us with my cape. Then in the blink of an eye, I teleported again before her friends could stop us and traveled all the way to the lab in my mansion with Danielle in tow. I could feel her struggling against me once the dizziness of being abruptly teleported passed and Danielle realized what I had done. But now, just like Danielle said only moments before, it is time to put an end to this once and for all...

"I can't do this anymore," I began shakily after finally losing my composure completely once we were alone and I could finally be honest with myself without having to waste my energy keeping up appearances in front of Vallen or anyone else.

Ignoring her protests, I found myself holding onto Danielle like a lifeline and was unable to keep my voice from wavering as I confessed, "Even though I resigned myself to this the thought of living without you is too painful! I don't want to be left alone again! And I don't want you to hate me! Anything but that! It's just...after everything that's happened to you these past few months I began to feel like I haven't done nearly enough to give you the life you deserve.

"That's when I told myself it was time to stop playing nice and go back to doing whatever it takes to ensure you'll be safe from ghosts and have a bright future ahead of you even if it meant getting blood on my hands again. _'Do whatever it takes'_ I thought as if it is ever that simple. I had to be the strong one...but you...when did you become so-"

Letting my arms fall limp at my sides, I fell to my knees, clenching my eyes shut and grabbing fistfuls of my dark hair as I howled, "I thought this is what I wanted, for you to become strong and independent enough to protect yourself and become the incredible woman you were always meant to be without being stifled by your parents and held back by your worthless friends. But somewhere along the way, I started to feel like the more self-sufficient you became, the further apart we grew, and eventually you would no longer need me! That you would take what you needed from me and I would be abandoned again!

"Because no matter how close we become or how much I love you, regardless of our hybrid status, I know the world will never accept us and I know how much of a burden that is to you! And I thought I could wait until you were older to make you mine, but I know I'm not the only one who sees your beauty and the light you bring into the lives of those around you so every time I see Samson or Vallen try to steal you from me I wish they were dead or that I could kill them myself to remove the competition. I can't escape these ugly thoughts or the jaded man I became because of your father. Despite your best efforts, I'll never be able to become a good man or a hero to anyone.

"So I thought, if we'll never be accepted as lovers as human beings...then I would claim you as my queen in the Ghost Zone and no one there would dare question it. At least then our love would mean something and not be something deplorable you have to hide even from those closest to you apart from me whom you confide in. And I...I never meant for all this to happen, for you to turn against me or for Nocturne to interfere. But he's right!

"Everything he showed me in my dreams and nightmares is the possible result of MY actions, not his, not Jacks, and most certainly not yours because you did absolutely nothing wrong. I have no one to blame for this but myself and I don't know how to fix it! I am Vlad Plasmius! I don't FIX things, I control all the pieces on the board and destroy anyone who stands in the way of my goals! I don't know how to be anything else! I don't know how to be the man that deserves you!"

Breathing heavily, I didn't dare look up to gauge Danielle's expression since I already knew I must look pathetic and wretched. For the first time in twenty years, I no longer felt like I was in control of the situation and my efforts were being thwarted at every turn either by the Ghost King and his slave the Fright Knight, Nocturne, or Danielle herself when she effortlessly finds ways to surprise me with her strength, wits, and willpower. And it was then that I realized that boy Samson was also right, it seems that we've spent all this time together and yet I still hardly know Danielle at all and failed to see how much she's grown-

"That's the thing about strength Vlad," Danielle replied while hesitantly untangling my hands away from my hair and holding them in her lap as she knelt down in front of me and her glowing peridot green eyes narrowed, "Having all that strength and raw power doesn't always solve everything. I had to learn that the hard way. Sometimes you have to think outside the box or ask for help when you really need it when strength isn't enough to protect yourself with or the people you love. You taught me that actually. So now it looks like I need to remind you of that lesson about directing your energy to the things you actually can control and let the rest fall into place on its own-"

Closing her eyes, Danielle took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly like I taught her as a calming technique and once she opened them Danielle continued calmly, "-but you're right. We can't keep living a lie anymore and hiding how we really feel about our relationship. So here's how I really feel. You might not think it's possible but I KNOW you're better than this. I don't want you to become just another villain I have to fight because while you might not think so I know that's not who you are, not to me, so please stop trying to give me a reason to hate you as a way to punish yourself. It's bullshit."

Gently squeezing my hands, Danielle told me confidently, "Villains don't apologize, they don't regret their actions, and most of all they don't care what anyone else thinks. But you do, Vlad. You care, and that's what makes all the difference. And it's a relief to finally hear you tell me you're scared too because so am I."

Looking up at her again, I saw her eyes fill with tears as she too admitted, "I don't know what the future holds for either of us and even if Nocturne gave us a special preview of one possible outcome it's not like any of that is set in stone so you shouldn't treat it like a fucking self-fulfilling prophecy! And that's the whole point! If we don't try to make things better and get through the next few years we'll never know for sure. So please, please don't give up Vlad. Don't try to take the easy way out or do this all by yourself. All I want is for you to believe in me...like you always have until you suddenly didn't and that hurt so much that I..."

Letting my instinct take over I leaned forward and kissed her eyelid before whispering, "Don't, don't say another word, Danielle. I have a feeling I pushed you into someone else's arms because of my actions and I'm sorry, but you don't have to be. I forgive you, Danielle. But the important thing is...can you ever forgive me?"

Instead of answering Danielle climbed into my lap, trembling from head to toe either because of the overwhelming rush of emotion or her cold-core acting up again, and she kissed me on the lips before wrapping her arms around me and replying, "I already have. And I'm sorry too...for what I have to do next."

I opened my mouth to ask what on earth she meant when I felt a sharp pain in my neck and Danielle flew off of me the instant I reached up to the sore spot and saw the needle in her hand. Of course, I left tranquilizers on the counter in case I had to...sedate her while dealing with the Ghost King to keep her out of harm's way. I didn't know whether to admire her quick thinking or curse it because I could feel the drug rapidly taking effect and I was barely able to drag myself to a standing position before turning to her, blinking away the darkness threatening to close in on me.

Still, I had to ask, "Danielle...why did you...?"

Her hands still shaking uncontrollably, Danielle answered with a quivering voice and a sad smile, "Because you fruitloop, I can't let you try and attempt that whole heroic sacrifice thing to impress me. You're obviously really bad at being good. Besides...I never hated you, Vlad, I was hurt and my feelings for you haven't changed so you don't have to prove anything to me. I'm the one who has to prove to you that I can do this, I can stop Pariah Dark without either of us sacrificing our freedom. And don't worry, I'll come back safely, I promise. I won't leave you alone so sleep well, Vlad. I'll be back before you know it."

Floating down to the ground and dropping the syringe with a clatter, Danielle opened my ghost portal and the last thing I saw was her flying out of reach before the portal closed behind her and the room along with my vision both went dark and I collapsed to the floor, powerless to stop her...


	54. Impetrate

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Hey guys, sorry for the delay I was distracted working on a different story and some more artwork but here we go! Also I'm just kinda pulling ideas out of the wood-work so sorry if some of it seems random I just want to finish up this story soon before it drags on too much longer. Not sure what kind of story I'll do next on this profile or if I'll focus on my main account for a bit but we'll see!

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Chapter 54: Impetrate

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Danielle's POV

Even if they asked me to explain it to them, I don't really know how I managed to make it back home after knocking Vlad out. But the important thing is that I made it safely through the Ghost Zone and back through my ghost portal where Sam and Trish were anxiously waiting for me. Well, I say 'waiting' but the truth is they were so busy arguing over how the hell they were going to rescue me from Vlad after he abducted me to steal a moment alone between us that they nearly jumped out of their skin when I flew through the portal doors and shakily landed back on my feet. Snapping out of their daze the two of them ran towards me and asked me if I was ok, but I could only muster the energy to shake my head before I brushed past them towards the Ecto-Suit.

Then, after wiping some stray tears off my face, and I told them bluntly, "There's no time to explain. All I can tell you is that Vlad should be out cold for a few hours if we're lucky. Now he can't stop me from doing what I have to finish this..." Biting my lip and taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I turned to them and added meaningfully, "At least I know Vlad didn't mean for things to get this bad, but now I have to focus and put a stop to all this. Can you two hold down the fort while I'm gone?"

"Gone? Dani, what're you going to do?" Sam asked, looking worried.

Glancing back at the suit I replied, "I'm going to go look for the fourth Horseman, Death. While I was out cold after the Ghost King showed up, I saw some kind of vision that triggered after I touched the Fright Knight's sword. And then Nocturne gave me another hint that might help me find him because Pariah lied to the Fright Knight about imprisoning the others.

"I don't know the details, but somehow the Horseman of Death got away and he's been in hiding this whole time. If I can track him down using the same power as before that let me sense certain things about ghosts before, like with Freakshow and the Banshee, maybe we can work together to free the other two Horsemen before Pariah Dark or Vlad catches onto us. Or if not at least they can get the Fright Knight out of there and Pariah will lose his strongest minion since the only reason he's working for the Ghost King is because he blackmailed him. So there's no real loyalty between them. It's the only lead I've got and now's my only chance!"

"Is there really no other way?" Sam asked, this time sounding resigned.

"Dani, I don't really understand a single thing you said but I believe in you so please be careful..." Trish whispered tearfully too and I just smiled and pulled them both into a group hug.

Holding onto them tightly I continued encouragingly, "Hey, don't worry I've got this! After all, I managed to beat Vlad at his own game so how hard can the King of All Ghosts be? Just do me a favor? Don't be too hard on him when he wakes up, ok? I know Vlad has been acting like a total jackass but even he admitted he made a huge mistake because he thought there was no other way to get ghosts to stop targeting me. Not unless we proved to them that we're the most powerful ghosts of all by taking down the big bad no other ghost has been able to beat yet.

"I think Vlad's learned his lesson though about underestimating me. And I'm the only one allowed to kick his ass whenever he pulls dumb stunts like this. Trust me, before this is over Vlad is going to realize I'm doing him a huge favor by fixing his mess. I mean lets face it he's never really been very good at playing nice with others or pretending to be a hero and I told him as much. At the same time though I know Vlad doesn't want to be the villain here so now I'm putting the lid on his evil plans before things get any worse. It's kinda my thing."

"Dani, how can you give that creep another chance when Vlad caused all of this? He lied to you and-" Sam began when we heard the door to the lab opening and froze for a second. "Shit, someone's coming! Go! Trish and I trust you Dani even if we don't trust Vlad as far as we can throw him so hurry up and get going! But you damn better come back in one piece or I'm gonna kill you and make you full ghost myself, got it?"

"Yeah, get out of here and we got you covered!" Trish winked, shoving me away and to my surprise, she grabbed Sam and quite uh...dramatically kissed him and our eyes flew open in shock.

Trish was using the same distraction tactic I used once back when I first got my powers but it was still shocking to see Trish boldly try to pull it off with Sam of all people! Shaking my head though, without another word I grabbed the suit, turned it and myself invisible and intangible, then flew through the roof without looking back. And despite everything going on, part of me secretly hoped that kiss might spark something more between them since Trish is one of my best friends too and guys don't know what they're missing so I could see them as a cute couple...

Sam may or may not be that guy but again, who am I to judge since my own love life is non-existent right now. At least, not unless I patch things up with Vlad. What he said to me before I knocked him out with a tranquilizer gave me hope that we could turn things around between us, but I've been burned before so I can't afford to be that naive again. As for right now though I had much more important things to deal with.

With that, I opened the latch, sat down in the pilot's seat, and activated the suit's neural receptors. It felt strange, like being connected mentally to a machine the same way I used to sense Vlad's feelings, but if it helped me control it better and does what my parents said it does, then I just might pull off this crazy plan of mine to shove the Ghost King back into his magic sleepy-time box. And supposedly Vlad fixed the problems the Ecto-Suit was having before, which is probably why he was planning on stealing it himself, so at least it shouldn't make me feel too woozy when I use it. But the fact that Vlad wanted or needed the supposed extra power boost this suit gives you did worry me a little since means he was going to have to go all in to defeat Pariah Dark...

...but I don't have to win, I just have to make sure that he loses.

* * *

Once everything was all set up and ready to go, I braced myself and activated the rockets to get to the edge of my parent's ghost shield as quickly as possible. They ended up pushing the shield to maximum capacity and right now it was the only thing protecting most of the town from Pariah Dark's goons and other spooks from the Ghost Zone now that we were trapped inside. I know it's a bad time to be worrying about it, but I wonder what our town looks like back in the real world, like was it nothing but a big hole where the land was torn up right from the earth or could people only see a glowing green dome where it used to be?

Anyways, all that aside, if my parents shield still works the same way as before I should be able to easily fly right through it as a human then once I'm out I'll change into my ghost form. Originally I was going to have Trish deactivate the shield for me just enough for me to pass through, but between Vlad grabbing me and teleporting us to his lab and how close I got to getting caught when I finally made it back to my house by whoever was coming down to the lab, I was pretty much on my own and had to improvise at the last minute.

I did the same thing when I...stabbed Vlad in the neck with the sedative. I knew as soon as I reached out to him that I was risking the chances of going weak in the knees and latching onto him in search of comfort and reassurance despite all the bullshit he put me through. I can't begin to describe what a relief it was when Vlad was finally honest with me and tried to explain himself to me instead of acting like it was his plan all along to betray me. Oh, Vlad was still being a totally selfish bastard, but in the end everything he did was still done out of love and it wasn't just a ploy to become more powerful for power's sake.

People have done much worse I'm sure in the name of love...

I suppressed a shutter once I made it out of the ghost shield when it suddenly hit me that this is the first time I've been in the Ghost Zone alone since the last time I was here it was with Vlad so we could get my voice back from the Banshee. And sure I flew through this place a little while ago on my own as a last-minute shortcut to put some distance between myself and Vlad but, here I am again. But now what was I supposed to do? How can I use my power to lead me to the Horseman of Death?

"Wait a minute, didn't the Vlad tell me once that my Final Dirge power could be used like a siren's call to draw ghosts to me or hurt them depending on what I'm trying to do? The Banshee mentioned something about that too but I haven't tried it because the last thing I want to do is attract MORE ghosts to me. Hmm, I wonder...can I use that power sort of like dolphins do underwater or whatever with echo-location? It's worth a shot right?"

Taking a deep breath, I felt the Ecto-Suit respond and amplify my Final Dirge as I slowly began to vocalize after landing on a nearby rock and trying to search for a specific ghost signature. This one was just a test so I figured I'd call for a ghost I was hoping was still in the Ghost Zone despite everyone else making a break for it. You might remember them, its that ghost dog Cujo that caused some problems for Vallen and his dad but Vlad helped me smooth things over and get his dad's job back by pulling some strings.

I turned around to make sure my sound wave pulses went out in all directions but stopped when I felt a wave of familiar energy pass through me. It was weak so I couldn't say for sure if my idea worked but I waited for a few minutes, scanning the area in front of me when I heard a happy booming bark in the distance. I couldn't believe my eyes! It worked! My idea actually worked! I-whoa-!

I swayed a little bit when I felt a wave of dizziness hit me instead and frowned when I glanced back at the power capacity status of my parents Ecto-Suit. I was trying to conserve my energy and only boosted it to expand the range of my Final Dirge but it looks like even that took more energy than expected to pull off. If this was going to work I would need to focus on using my power in small bursts while moving in one direction. But the question is, which one? Nocturne said Death was close to me, but how close to my parents portal was he and how was I going to reach him in time?

Taking advantage of my distraction, Cujo barreled into me in his larger form and pinned me to the rock, shamelessly licking the glass over my face and I laughed, "Hey, cut it out! Ok ok, it's good to see you too boy."

I thanked my lucky stars I was wearing a giant robo-suit because if Cujo had done that while I was out in the open he might have smothered me. Still, I was happy to see him and this gave me the chance to see if he could do me a small favor. I mean Cujo WAS a guard dog so maybe...

"Cujo, sit!" I ordered and he instantly obeyed, giving me enough room to get free after phasing through the rock to stand up again. Scratching him behind the ears I told him what a good boy he was before taking the time to lead him to the outside of Vlad's portal and said, "Cujo, I need you to guard this portal. If anyone comes through you need to chase them away but no biting! We don't wanna hurt anyone. Do you understand?"

Barking affirmatively at me he turned to the portal and growled, pacing the front of it like a good guard dog. Smiling I pat his head one more time with my large robo-hand and said, "Thanks, boy. Now you stay here and I'll be back as soon as I can ok?"

Whining Cujo licked my hand but obediently stayed in the general area of the portal as I flew away after looking at it sadly, knowing Vlad was still on just the other side sprawled out on the floor of his laboratory.

"I'm sorry, Vlad, I really didn't want to trick you but you left me no choice. But don't worry, once I stop the Ghost King that'll show you I'm not as weak as you thought was and maybe there's still a chance for us. And I hope Nocturne is giving you pleasant dreams at the very least. Anyways, wish me luck..." I said aloud before turning around and doing the same thing as before but trying to locate a vaguer ghost signature that was strangely familiar and yet I've obviously never met this supposed guardian of the Ghost Zone.

Or maybe I have and I just didn't know it yet...


	55. Deathless

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Hey guys, its been a while. And sorry in advance if this chapter is all over the place, I'm not feeling very good right now and at this point, I just want to get to the climax of the story faster since this has been dragging on for so long. I have a good idea for my next story on here though since I'm not ready to work on _"Feral"_ again yet so be sure to keep an eye out for it when this story is done. I kinda want to write an alternate version of this story without the romance but has its own angsty twist! Or if not I'll just do it with a normal version of Danny and not this genderbent one. Meh, we'll see...

* * *

Chapter 55: Deathless

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Danielle's POV

I was beginning to wonder if this was a good idea after all because even though I gave myself time to take a breather every once in awhile my throat was starting to burn and I was exhausted. So when I got the chance I decided to look for somewhere safe and as luck would have it I was close to Dorian's domain. I landed with a dull thud and not gonna lie, it was almost eerier that the whole place, hell even most of the Ghost Zone itself, was almost dead silent and there wasn't a single ghost in sight.

To coin a phrase, it was like a ghost town. Or ghost castle in this case...?

I knew there wasn't much time for me to rest but I had to if I wanted to have any chance of locking Pariah Dark up again let alone finding the Horsemen of Death. Luckily it was the Ecto-Suit doing the walking and not me because I'm sure my legs would have felt like jelly. How could I have been stupid enough to believe it would be that easy to use my powers to find this guy? Was Vlad right all along and this is more than I can handle on my own?

Taking a deep breath and steeling myself I frowned and told myself, "No, don't do this to yourself, Dani. I can't doubt myself because everyone is counting on me! Jason, mom and dad, Sam, Trish, Vallen, even Vlad. Nocturne gave me the chance I need with those hints and my Final Dirge did call Cujo to me so somehow I'll find this guy...I have to."

I briefly wondered whether Dorian's brother, King Aragon, might still be here since he struck me as someone too stubborn to leave his precious castle but that feeling quickly drifted away as exhaustion set in and my eyes started to blur. I hadn't even made it through the front gate when my ghost sense went off and I blearily looked up. I blinked a few times when the vapor my ghost sense floated out in front of me and formed the misty silhouette of a...horse?

"Oh great, now I'm getting delirious..." I grumbled, running a tired hand down the glass of my helmet when I heard a faint whinny and impatient hooves scraping across the wood of the drawbridge.

I blinked when the ghost slowly became more solid and my eyes flew wide. I wasn't hallucinating! That's the same horse I saw in my vision of the Fright Knight when he was still Conquest. But, where was their rider?

"Um, hello? Are you...Death's horse?" I asked and those pale misty teal-white eyes bore into me from its horse-skull head as it nodded and neighed loudly before rearing and slamming its hooves down.

Without warning the horse turned into a silvery-white flame and shot in the opposite direction and I scrambled forward, reaching out and calling after it, "Wait! Where are you going?!"

Frantically looking around I watched the small flame zoom forward and with a powerful rush of energy, I sped after it, feeling totally re-energized just by the fact that it showed up on its own! So my Final Dirge DID work after all! Instead of locating Death or someone close to him, I called his horse and it was showing me the way! At least, I hope that's what it's doing...

Regardless, I soon left the castle far behind me down below and flew after the silvery flame with all my might and watched as it split into four and from the hooves up it reformed itself so I could see it better and galloped across the vast emptiness of the Ghost Zone towards who knows where! _Well, at least I know it's not a Kelpie,_ I silently snickered to myself as I followed it deeper into the Ghost Zone. Still, I had to wonder why it had only shown itself when I made it to Dorian's castle hoping to take a short break before continuing my search, and why did I even decide to go there anyway? Was I secretly hoping he would be there to help after all so I wouldn't be alone? Who knows...

_...not...alone..._I heard a weak voice whisper in the back of my mind and I flinched, glancing from side to side while making sure not to lose track of the ghost horse.

It was only then that I noticed that this part of the Ghost Zone seemed even emptier than the rest, there wasn't much swirling green ecto-energy or even doors and floating islands, just pitch black darkness as far as the eye could see. And even though I have ice powers I felt a very sharp drop in temperature all of a sudden.

_I'm here, come,_ the voice breathed and it was oddly comforting and strangely warm, not to mention familiar. That's why instead of the horse I began following that feeling and gasped when it landed on some unseen surface that glinted briefly before trotting inside.

Hesitantly when I reached the same spot I reached out my hand and felt the hard cold surface beneath so to speak and then blindly felt around for the opening the horse went through. When I found it I stepped inside what seemed like a hallway made of this strange black material, like pure obsidian or something and the only light source was my own ghostly glow and the horse's as its hooves clacked against the stone and created this crystal clear tone like a bell almost with every step. My own steps weren't anywhere near as elegant with this huge robotic battle suit on but that hardly mattered since I was in the right place at least.

Eventually the horse stopped before a chained door with this large skull-shaped padlock and judging by the way it was tossing its head I was supposed to open it somehow. "Ok...? But how do I open it without a key? Can't you just open it for me or..."

The horse snorted and released a puff of glowing mist before stepping back and vanishing once again into a silvery flame and leaving me to deal with the glowing chains. And yeah, I realized after I said it that asking a horse, ghost, or not to open a door for me was stupid anyway so instead I made a show of cracking my knuckles and smirked.

"Well this shouldn't be too hard, I can just freeze it and break it since that will make it all brittle right? I've seen them do it plenty of times in the movies," reaching down, I wrapped my robotic fingers around the lock but then abruptly let go when I felt it leeching the life out of me and for a second it felt like I couldn't breathe!

Gasping, I snatched my hand back and yelled, "Goddamn it! What the hell was that all about, huh?! Why did you lead me here just to shut me out?! Besides I thought the Ghost King lied and hadn't imprisoned you!"

Silence greeted me until finally, the voice replied softly,_ He did not...I used what was left of my power to seal what remains of my core here, in a place I prayed Pariah Dark would not dare to look. Your ghost powers will not work here...for this realm...is where nothingness thrives. It is the edge of the ultimate end where not even the soul can remain for long without being swallowed by it. At least, under normal circumstances..._

I opened my mouth to ask what the hell that had to do with anything when the voice continued, _Danielle Fenton...I have long awaited this day. At last, I can impart upon you one final message to my brothers..._

"Final? But you're a ghost! And aren't the Horsemen part of the Ghost Zone itself so you can't actually disappear?" I asked stepping back from the doorway.

_Yes, you speak the truth, however, I have found a way to break free of my role thanks to two mortals who stand between life and death in perfect balance. As the embodiment of Death, I was once the ultimate equalizer. For every death, there must be a birth in the human world. But one day, I felt the entire realm tremble when the first of your kind was _'born' _that does not belong to either world and yet embody both. _

_That is when I saw my chance the moment my power touched you, brought you and Vladimir Masters closer to Death, to divide my power and entrust it to you. You became my reapers and those who guide the dead to where they are destined to return or to end the irredeemable. And now...I can grant you the last of my power to aid my brothers and then let the darkness take me, for I grow weary of this endless cycle and would know the peace of oblivion myself..._

"Wait, don't you care at all about what's happened to them? To the Fright Knight and the others? I thought you'd want to fight and help free them! Why would you just give up on them?! On yourself? And why me? Why did you make me like this!?" I practically screamed, angry that someone else had forced their own expectations onto me without asking first and I was supposed to just accept it.

_Why? Because they despised me. Ghosts who remember their life fear death and feel I have robbed them of it, as do those who were formed here and fear this oblivion. I am the terrible truth that awaits them all because all things will end eventually, so it is natural to fight against that fate and my brothers could not shield me from their rage. I cannot burden them with my existence again. But you...thanks to your unique nature I was able to become a part of you and the other half-breed and once my core too is destroyed I will be no more and at least you will not have to do this task alone. You also have a haven on Earth, for as long as it lasts that is..._

"I don't-" I began when the eyes of the padlock started to glow blue.

_There isn't much time left, you must accept my core energy now and use it to draw you to the others. Please, set me free. Do this, and you will become undying unless slain and can ever remain at your love's side. And when the end comes...you may pass my power on if you so desire but at least this will give me a few years of blissful peace where I do not have to suffer the scorn of the dead and the dying._

"What if I don't want that? I just want to live my life the way it is now and have the chance to be normal! I didn't ask for any of this, and Vlad he...I just..." I began unsurely until I remembered that if I didn't do something fast, it's possible that EVERYONE I love could die if the Ghost King come after them and turns everyone in Amity Park into a ghost to rule over them so this wasn't about me. I never had a choice to begin with and I guess it's time to accept that.

But I guess...confirming that Vlad and I were basically going to be immortal wasn't all that bad if he manages to get his act together. Maybe we could start over in the future and- no, no I can't worry about the future now or even what might happen when we do finally die one day, it's now or never. With that, I finally nodded and without asking I began using my Final Dirge again to call out to him, to draw Death out from the other room into me and somehow I knew doing this would create a new bond with Vlad too since he was given his power too and never even realized it.

The mouth of the skull padlock then opened wide and exhaled loudly sort of like I do when my ghost sense goes off and I saw the mist come towards me and slip into any gaps in the armor it could find before snaking across my skin and then over my heart into a sphere before phasing inside. I shuttered when a wave of cold ran through me and for a second it was like every bone in my body was glowing blue from the inside and radiating cold. It was a really freaky feeling, like that unnatural numb sensation you feel when given a shot at the dentist. Thankfully it didn't last long but I could swear it was so intense that I blacked out for a second and the next thing I knew...I was laying in front of the gate back at Dorian's castle again...

_Was that all a dream? How did I...?_ I wondered when I looked up to see Nocturne towering over me, his head tilted as his weird drama mask eyes glinted happily at me.

"I knew you would return, welcome back my child," he said, offering a clawed hand to me, "I sensed you enter a dream just long enough to find you before I could not follow any further."

"Ugh, I feel awful. What happened? How much of that was even real?" I asked, accepting his hand awkwardly since I was still in the Ecto-Suit.

"It was real up until Death's horse passed through your core as a silver flame," Nocturne explained, "And while it was only brief, the only reason you were able to reach Death's Door...is because you were brought to the edge of death by its power. Your heart stopped beating and while you were caught in that moment between life and death once again, much like during your accident with your parents portal, he pulled your soul from your body directly to him in a dying dream. Quite clever actually. And judging from what little I saw it was likely the quickest and safest way to bring you to him because your body would not have survived a trip to that realm in the flesh. A soul takes longer to consume in the Unworld, but a living vessel would have rapidly withered and died there."

"Well, uh...at least I got that nap I wanted," I replied with a nervous chuckle, trying to ignore the fact that Nocturne said I just literally died a little more inside just so Death could talk to me in person. "Now I get it, he was never behind that door...was he? If that was Death's Door, then he must've turned himself into the lock I saw as a disguise right?"

"Perhaps, I cannot say for sure since he clouded my vision of your dream once you arrived at his location. But you now have the power you need my child, and in return, I have kept your lover dreaming as long as I could. His will is much stronger this time and he is not so easily misled by my illusions so you must hurry. Go free the other Horsemen and they will know...that you are now his Angel of Death. Now, this has a far truer meaning than that mortal Freakshow could have possibly imagined," gliding away from me Nocturne bowed which surprised me before he added, "For I could not have asked for a more worthy savior..."


	56. Ruthless

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **I hope you guys don't mind if I start rushing a little but again I just want this story over with so I can move on. Still, I've enjoyed the journey so far and don't plan to write a third in this series. I'd like to try something new or focus on other projects for a while. Either way, we're finally getting to the meat of the story so I wonder what will happen next! Will Vlad get over himself and finally help her like he's supposed to? Or will Vlad continue to be an obsessive, controlling, overprotective fruitloop? Guess we'll find out pretty soon, won't we?

* * *

Chapter 56: Ruthless

(Chapter inspired by Frontline by Pillar)

* * *

Vlad's POV

I felt absolutely no remorse as I watched the ghost dog Danielle left to guard my portal cower at my feet. He had obediently followed her instructions to detain me without causing bodily harm, but once I allowed my full ghostly aura to flare up it was more than enough to prove my dominance. I also used every trick I knew and ghost power at my disposal to escape Nocturne's latest illusion in my dreams to get the same message across. That imbecile should know by now if he's as omniscient as they say that there is NOTHING in Heaven, Hell, the Ghost Zone, or the Earth that will keep me from Danielle.

While her betrayal still cut me to the core in some ways, I knew it came from a place of love not unlike my own so it was easily forgiven. However, no matter the cost I would find her before it's too late. I could only hope that it wouldn't be necessary to use force to make her see reason and bring her back to safety since Danielle has already told me she has forgiven me and only wants to prove to me once and for all that she's powerful enough to protect me. How strange that she should feel that way, but if nothing else it already proved that her devotion to me is still intact despite everything I've done.

Returning my attention to the mutt, now that it was in its tiny ghost form again I pulled it up by the scruff and sneered, "You're lucky that I still have some use for you otherwise I would put you down a second time for getting in my way. Now, listen closely, you are going to help me track down Danielle and that's final. Are we clear?"

Whining fearfully in response I took that as a yes and then promptly pulled out the empty syringe Danielle used to drug me earlier since it had the freshest traces of her scent on it. Truth be told I was actually already planning to locate Cujo to do this anyway so Danielle's little ploy of asking him to stand guard actually spared me the trouble of tracking him down just to hunt HER down before she hurts herself on this fool's errand. Daniel thought she was being clever but it would take more than a single guard dog to stop me when her life is on the line.

Sniffing the object in my hand thoroughly Cujo barked and then phased out of my grip, transformed into his larger form, and honing in on her trail. Satisfied, I followed the beast as he ran and kept up with ease. Still, it was equally comforting and disconcerting that the Ghost Zone felt as abandoned as it did. For one thing, it meant less of Danielle's usually enemies were bound to cross paths with her, but it also meant she was now MORE likely to run into the Fright Knight and the rest of Pariah Dark's forces. And if they still believe she has the ring...they would not hesitate to bring her before his throne and I shuttered to think what he may do to Danielle.

Unsurprisingly, Cujo led me to what I could only assume was Prince Dorian's domain. She had probably come here searching for allies to help her defeat Pariah and his forces without my power. Sadly for a dragon ghost, he seemed far too timid to be of any actual use to her judging from everything Danielle told me about him. Even so, I admired Danielle for trying if nothing else...

"Well? Where is she?" I growled impatiently when I noticed Cujo was pacing the gate in front of the drawbridge. He started pawing at the ground, digging at it for a moment before snorting, and trying to sniff the air again to catch her trail.

Fear started to set in when I started thinking Danielle had been captured and the reason he could not catch her scent was because there were too many other scents left behind by her enemies that were making it difficult to distinguish it. Therefore, it meant that this animal was now worthless to me. I was just about to scare him off when Cujo's head suddenly snapped up again and he howled, turning on heel and bounding into the air again after what appeared to be some sort of ghostly deer-

Unless-! Teleporting ahead of the slobbering mutt I saw the unmistakable form of a ghost horse with a pale misty form as it reared and then charged towards the large dog, unafraid. Cujo was obviously taken off guard by this but the moment it caught the mare's scent he yelped and fled in the opposite direction. And there could only be one reason he would feel afraid of a ghost so much smaller than himself. Then, tilting it's horse-skull head unnaturally far to the right to look directly at me with those cold empty eyes, it strode towards me with purpose, and then to my surprise, it bowed its head to me and bent low with one knee as if...asking me to ride it.

"What in the world?" I wondered aloud as it lifted its muzzle and looked at me expectantly.

I narrowed my eyes in mistrust until I felt a familiar aura emanating from the mare as if it was connected to Danielle somehow, and therefore to me. But I didn't understand, how did Death's horse free itself? Did Danielle do it and ask it to find me? Was Death himself responsible? Either way, while I was reluctant to trust this creature so easily if it was powerful enough to scare off such a fearsome guard dog like Cujo perhaps it could prove useful to me.

"Very well, I'll play along for now. But if this is some sort of trick I'll break every bone in that ghostly body of yours..." I explained coldly but the mare didn't seem the least bit concerned, and I suppose it was foolish of me to think the steed of Death would fear pain or destruction when it was a manifestation of the Ghost Zone itself.

With that, I mounted the elegant creature and to my surprise, a bridle appeared out of thin air in a whoosh of silver flames as did a saddle so I would be more comfortable riding. Well, that was rather considerate of them given how I threatened it a moment ago but I wasn't about to complain about it. After that I urged Death's horse into a gallop, hoping it would lead me to Danielle since it seemed to have some strange connection with us that I didn't understand quite yet. I had my suspicions, but it was too soon to say whether any of them were true.

* * *

Danielle's POV

_Meanwhile..._

"Ok, I never expected this to be easy, but don't you guys think this is overkill?" I laughed nervously as another wave of these weird flaming black skeletons rushed for me with their swords raised.

I'm not sure how, but as soon as I found this place I knew I had found War's prison and it was like his own power had been turned against him so that these flaming skeleton guys just would not let up and were filled with a fierce battle rage that was hard for me to keep up with. My ice powers helped a lot though once I figured out that putting out the flames would revert them back to nothing but a pile of inanimate bones again. The only problem is I'm still not very good at controlling it since I only discovered this power recently plus there were just too many of them!

At this point, my plan was just to carve a path through them so I could get into the fortress on the other side where the Horsemen of War was trapped somewhere inside. All I needed was an opening. For a while, I started to feel like this was going to be impossible to pull off when I finally decided it was time to risk using my Final Dirge again. So I planted my feet, pulled my arms close to my sides, and took a deep breath before letting loose my war cry so to speak.

Like a strong gust of wind it put out most of the flaming skeletons and they clattered to the ground in a heap of charred bones and those whose flames hadn't been put out further in the back were struggling to keep them alight. Letting my power fade I coughed and rubbed my throat before sprinting forward clumsily, trampling over the bones and crushing a lot of them under the weight of the Ecto-suit's boots, and shoved the doors open before pushing it closed again with all my might and lowering the bar to seal it off before sagging to the floor and coughing again.

Even though I was able to rest a bit earlier, the fact is I've still been overusing my powers a lot, especially my Final Dirge so I was going to have to be very careful. For all I knew I could end up permanently damaging my vocal cords but if its a choice between either never singing or talking again just like when the Banshee stole my voice or saving the people I love, its a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Then again, maybe the reason I felt so weak is because I've been fighting so long and technically died for a few minutes according to Nocturne...

He's the one who pointed me in the right direction after helping me to my feet earlier in front of Dorian's castle using the memories of a long-forgotten dream by someone who had seen the Horsemen of War in person. Apparently, in many cultures, he was considered a God of War and fought alongside the Fright Knight back when he was still Conquest and they fought many battles and wars together for the thrill of it and to defend the Ghost Zone from crazy necromancers summoning ghosts against their will to use against their enemies.

Yep, apparently that's a real thing.

I know I was supposed to use Death's power and his connection to the other Horsemen to find them but Nocturne knew that time is of the essence so he gave me what little help he could as one last gesture of goodwill and faith in me. It was really kind of him actually and I was grateful I could consider him one ally at least. Too bad he's not a fighter and made it clear that I was on my own from here on out because he won't have any power over Pariah's dreams to keep him imprisoned until I lock him up again.

At least Pariah's ego would end up being his downfall since he had imprisoned the other two Horsemen in their own lairs, at least I assume so given where War and his horse are trapped right now. Regardless, maybe once I freed him War could give me a clue where the last guy, Famine, and his horse is since I already know where the Fright Knight is not to mention that Death just passed his power onto me and Vlad if I understood him right. Death is now literally a part of us supposedly which I'll admit sounds super creepy as opposed to just having ectoplasm fused to our DNA...

I was startled back to alertness when the gate behind me shuttered and I realized the army of skeletons were trying to break into the fortress again so I had to keep moving. I needed to find this guy and maybe once I freed him he could call off his goons for me. Keeping an eye out for traps or more enemies, I scanned the area ahead of me and couldn't help but notice how red everything was. This fortress was made of red bricks and in the torchlight, it was like the walls were constantly on fire or at least had flames licking them greedily. There were also more glowing chains draped across the walls like curtains and there were all sorts of weapons from nearly every War in history and era I could think of decorating the walls. They were probably supposed to be trophies or something.

Just then, I heard the chains rattling behind me and letting my instincts take over I ducked as a glowing mace came rushing at me and when I looked up, all the weapons were glowing and tearing themselves off the walls to come after me. "Shit, I had a feeling this was going to happen! Ah whatever, I'm just gonna run because I don't have time for this!"

Swatting away the weapons attacking the Ecto-Suit like they were nothing but flies, I forced my way forward, and as soon as I went through the next door I slammed it shut and just like in every haunted house movie ever the weapons impaled themselves in the door and stopped glowing. I heaved a sigh of relief only to start coughing again and this time, it really hurt so I sagged against the wall and pulled one of my arms out of the controls to the robot one to cover my mouth as I hacked.

I almost laughed at my own joke of hacking after almost being hacked to pieces myself, but sadly I was too busy coughing. And just like I was afraid of when I pulled my hand away it was covered in ectoplasmic blood. I knew I was overdoing it but I had no choice. There's no time for me to rest, I have to free this guy and maybe he could...could...

Getting dizzy again, I braced myself and then slapped my face as hard as I could to fight against it, wincing because of how much it stung. But like I said, there's no time for me to rest because I knew Vlad could wake up at any time and come after me, I could feel it. That's why I had to free the other two Horsemen and put some distance between us before that happened. I just hoped I could convince War to find Famine himself and free him instead of me since I still need figure out how I'm going to defeat Pariah Dark and with the way things were going even with the enhanced powers of this battle suit, it wasn't going to be enough.

Sooner or later I WAS going to need to rest and recharge because if I didn't I had a bad feeling I was going to die for real...

After fighting off the whole army in front of this fortress alone the Ecto-Suit's power level was hovering at 84% which isn't good at all. I needed to get it back to 100% if I was going to stand even a ghost of a chance against that creep. It's a daunting task, not gonna lie, but I've made it this far on my own and I could make it the rest of the way without Vlad's help. That doesn't mean there weren't moments where my heart ached and I wished he was here with me and not acting like a total dumbass...

Pushing the next door open with my weak trembling arms inside the robo-suit again, I panted when the room became unbearably hot and up ahead I could see a spear held in place by molten red chains, and off to the side, I could see some kind of horse armor helmet also held up by similar chains. Wiping the sweat from my brow I tried to step forward but the heat was so oppressive and overwhelming that even the Ecto-Suit itself was setting off alarm bells.

_"Warning, system overheating, immediate action required,"_ the suit announced in some generic robot voice.

"I know I know, just give me a second!" bracing myself I tried to call on my ice powers to cool everything down, but try as I might I just couldn't counter the heat from the chains fast enough so all I was doing was creating steam which was fogging up the glass of my robo-suit.

My eyes rolling back slightly when I started getting dizzy again but this time because of the intense heat, I staggered back and reluctantly exited the room, sagging to the floor just outside the door again and breathing heavily. This was quickly becoming too difficult for me to handle on my own and I hated it! I was so close and got this far but now I was failing everyone! I really thought I could do this, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I still needed Vlad more than I realized and he was supposed to be here at my side, making up for my shortcomings just like how we balanced each other out before all of this.

Feeling unbearably tired, I reached up to slap myself awake again and to help me get out of this damn funk I was about to fall into again when through the fogged glass I saw someone approaching me. Tense because I thought it was an enemy and too tired to try and sense their exact ghost signature, I forced myself back onto my feet and snarled defiantly.

"Who's there? I'm warning you, back off! I just took out most of the skeleton guys outside so you don't want to screw with me!" narrowing my gaze even though I could barely see through the glass right now, all the color drained from my face when I heard an all too familiar voice respond...

"Hello Danielle. I've finally caught up to you..." and a moment later, he teleported in front of me and wiped off the glass to look at me and I looked back up fearfully when I saw the face of none other than Vlad himself.

_Well...shit._


	57. Cauterized

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **Yeah I know what you're all thinking, _'ugh the author is relapsing and making Danielle a damsel again'! Damn it!' _but I promise I have an actual plan now so don't worry. As for this chapter, if all goes well Vlad and Danielle should finally patch things up for real only for a ton of drama to happen. It'll be pretty fun to write about I'm sure! At any rate enjoy the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 57: Cauterized

(Chapter inspired by Armor by Landon Austin)

* * *

Vlad's POV

The horrified expression on Danielle's face said it all when I finally found her. She believed she had failed to stop me, failed to prove herself, and that despair in her eyes only made it clearer that what I've done hasn't solved anything as I hoped it would. Because by trying to keep her from harm, I've only put Danielle in far greater danger. I realize that now...

My eyes narrowed dangerously when I noticed the traces of ghostly blood on the corner of her lips and once Danielle found her voice again, though it was alarmingly hoarse, she attempted to sound threatening and asked, "How did you find me?"

"I think the more important question is _'why am I here?'_" I corrected and carefully landed on my feet and backed away, hoping to reassure her that I didn't come here to start another fight.

Taking a deep breath, I continued sincerely, "Danielle, what happened in my laboratory really opened my eyes and I realize now that the only way I'm going to be able to keep you safe is to admit defeat and agree to finish this your way. Attempting to stop you has only pushed you to go to increasingly dangerous extremes..." chuckling mildly in amusement I added, "Although leaving behind a ghost dog to watch my portal was a valiant attempt to keep me from following and very much like you my dear."

Relaxing her stance ever so slightly Danielle asked, "Wait...did you use him to track me down?"

I nodded, "I did as a matter of fact, at least at first. But then I met an unexpected ally along the way who led me here...it was Death's horse."

"Oh..." Danielle sighed dejectedly, "Right, of course it was."

Confused I was just about to ask what she meant when the building began to rumble and it dawned on her that there was still an army of skeletons outside that had likely breached the front gates. I passed them invisibly on my way inside before Death's horse stopped in its tracks to let me dismount as if to say the rest was up to me and vanished once more into a silvery flame. I didn't think much of it until now since my only goal was to reach Danielle and convince her I'm not here to take her back to Amity Park but rather to-

"What the hell? Are they trying to bring the whole building down on our heads?" Danielle grumbled, before coughing into her fist then eyeing me suspiciously. "Well whatever, if you actually are here to help then maybe that's why Death's horse came to find you too. There's something I need to tell you but first...there are these burning chains I can't seem to break or cool off so if you actually mean any of that can you help-"

Coughing again, with her robotic arm Danielle pushed open the door so I could see what she was talking about and low and behold, there was a spear trapped in molten chains along with the helm piece of some horse armor. I could see Danielle wincing from the oppressive heat which comes as no surprise since she has an cold-core and mine is a heat-based one. Mindful that we were running out of time I nodded to let her know I understood her request before casually walking up to the chains. And after examining the way they were tangled around both objects I found the chain connecting the two together and with both hands I fed more heat into them to melt the metal much like one would with a welding tool since they were actually much cooler so to speak then they needed to be...

I've done my fair share of metal work so I know a thing or two about working with the material which certainly came in handy here. Danielle tried to watch me work but eventually had to back away when the heat became too much and the sparks flying were too bright for her tired eyes to handle. I was still a bit worried about that cough but once I did as she asked to slowly earn her trust again we could find somewhere safe for her to rest because Danielle was clearly pushing herself too hard and was nearing her breaking point. Guilt gnawed in the pit of my stomach since this was entirely my fault as I said before. If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't be here and she wouldn't be so cautious and distrustful of my every move.

Working faster since the rumbling was getting worse and chunks of the roof were beginning to fall to the floor, I managed to cut through most of the chains before pulling on them sharply and breaking off the rest. And the moment they broke, the chains became brittle and dissolved into ash one by one in rapid succession. Both objects clattered to the ground and then the ashes from the chains began to swirl around them, reigniting into embers and then a full flame before at last...the Horsemen of War and his proud stallion were standing before us in their full glory.

Just as the lore describes him the Horsemen of War for the most part looked exactly like the Fright Knight, who was previously the Horsemen of Conquest, only his flame was an angry blood red like the red dawn looming over a bloody battlefield. To my surprise though, his steed was startlingly white like cold ashes and the tips of their hooves still looked like molten metal being heated by a forge, and its mane and tail were also blood red. To finish the look, a dragon-like helm rested on its head and around the neck was a runed collar with a fiery red crystal that flickered like a living flame...

Either way, when War urged his steed forward, the heat of its hooves left scorch marks on the stone beneath and their red eyes peered down at us appraisingly as if to decide if we were friend or foe. Then with a deep powerful voice War's head turned to Danielle behind me and he pointed his spear at her, stating, "You have the stench of Death upon you. Was it he who sent you to free me mortal?"

_Stench of Death...? What is he talking about?_ I wondered worriedly, remaining silent for now since it seemed War had no interest in me just yet even though I was the one who technically freed him just now.

Regaining her confidence and then glancing at me briefly, Danielle nodded and explained, "Well, yes and no. Technically it was Nocturne who sent me to free you and Death said he had a final message for you and your brothers in arms."

"The Ghost of Sleep? Things must be dire indeed for such a docile fool to send a fledgling child before me. Speak," he ordered and I frowned, clearing my throat.

"If I may, she single-handedly cut a path through your army to reach this place and therefore is a warrior worthy of your respect," Danielle looked shocked to hear me say that but also a bit pleased with the compliment.

Turning their head to me finally, War's glowing eyes narrowed and he replied, "And who are you to speak so highly of this child of man? I sense there is a battle-bond between you but it has weakened greatly. How am I to trust your word mortal when you-"

"We don't have time for this!" Danielle growled, letting her frustration get the better of her as she stomped forward loudly in the Ecto-Suit as she hastily explained. "Look, our bond is only weak because Death had to...well, temporarily separate my body and soul so I could reach Death's Door safely in this place called the Unworld where he's been hiding from Pariah Dark. That's how he gave me his message. Vlad and I are special because we're still half-human too so Death gave me his message and then transferred his power to me to make us his Reapers or Angels of Death basically. But none of that matters because Famine is still trapped, Conquest was forced to deny his true form to become the Fright Knight, and we need allies! So are you going to help us or not since we just freed you from your imprisonment?"

His flames flaring up in anger War bellowed, "Pariah...that is the swine who deceived my brother Conquest! And Death, he has few servants but those who are cursed with his gifts are not to be trifled with for he is both the frailest and strongest among us in this realm. It is only fitting that he should seek out worthy hosts for his power who will actually be of use in battle. Very well!"

Raising his spear high into the air, War bellowed, "We shall ride together in glorious battle to free my brothers and Pariah shall meet his ultimate end for his treachery! I will rally my troops to march on Pariah's Keep while you free our final brother Famine, for his realm is venomous to my kind yet your lingering mortality may spare you from this ghostly toxin..."

Lowering his spear, War asked more respectfully, "O Angel of Death, what is the final message Death has given you?"

Walking forward, Danielle motioned for him to lean closer and while I attempted to listen with my ghostly hearing when she whispered it to him, all I heard were these wispy breathy noises so there was likely some magic behind it that only allowed the Horsemen to understand this message. I noticed how War's demeanor changed as if he was mourning the loss of a comrade but it passed quickly when he straightened himself up again.

"I see. So it has come to this. Nevertheless, you are bold to have dared the impossible so I acknowledge your skill and cunning making it this far," glancing at the two of us he nodded to himself and after lighting a blood-red flame in his other hand he offered it to me and said, "Since your partner cannot withstand my soul's flame due to her having a cold core, it falls to you to let this lead you to Famine's lair. In the meantime, I shall go forth to free my soldiers from the dark power that still commands them and then send word to all who would fight with us to liberate the Ghost Zone that War is at hand!"

As soon as I accepted the flame it shot into my chest and I staggered but War paid no attention and charged past us, his spear at the ready when the flaming skeleton's had finally reached the inner sanctum. And Danielle, seizing her chance scooped me up with one robotic arm and shouted that it was time to go before blasting a hole through the roof and carrying me as she flew off at full speed. I tried to pry myself free a few times since being carried this way was rather embarrassing even to me.

I was about to tell her as much when Danielle was suddenly overcome by another coughing fit and began spiraling out of control! Alarmed I cried out her name as we soon came across another floating island which we were now on a collision coarse with and knowing it would be too dangerous for both of us to teleport out of her grasp or even attempt to move us both past the island, I did the next best thing and threw a full shield around us to soften the blow as much as possible.

But there was no avoiding it...

* * *

The force of impact rattled my teeth as we barreled into what appeared to be a jungle of some sort. I don't know how long we lied there in the grass or how long my ears were ringing, but when I could finally hear again I heard an automated voice saying on repeat, _"Warning, system error. Neural receptors disconnected..."_

"Danielle!" I gasped in alarm, phasing myself out of the Ecto-Suit's grip to check on her only to see her gripping her shoulder in a fetal position and laying against the glass, which was slick with ectoplasmic blood from a deep gash above her right eyebrow that was bleeding freely down her cheek.

Phasing my hands inside the suit to carefully pull Danielle free, I laid her down on the soft mossy ground beneath us and eased her onto her back as soon as I realized that her shoulder was dislocated. Creating a duplicate to assist me, I calmly assured Danielle she was going to be alright and removed my cape to fashion a sling out of or to use for counter traction if necessary. As much as I hated seeing Danielle in so much pain it was important for both of us to remain calm and patient to avoid damaging the muscle tissue in her shoulder further...

I wasn't sure if Danielle was even listening since she had her eyes closed and she was breathing heavily through her teeth while her whole body visibly shaking from the pain. That is until Danielle finally did open her eyes and slide her left hand along the ground until it reached my duplicate and without asking he held her hand. She smiled bravely and attempted nod but that jostled her shoulder and Danielle whimpered, biting down on her lip.

"I-I'm ok. I'll...be fine. Let's j-just get this over-r with," Danielle managed to force herself to say, holding my duplicate's hand in a vice-like grip and continuing courageously. "I'm r-ready."

Nodding mutely in response, I began the agonizingly slow process of figuring out how best to relocate her shoulder. And once I did figure out which method was actually working, she cried out in both pain and relief when I helped pop it back into place and she let go of my hand, her fingers weakly curled in the fabric of my pant leg until it went limp and Danielle went back to focusing on controlling her breathing. Still holding onto her arm with one hand I telepathically instructed my duplicate to hand me back my cape which I wrapped around Danielle's neck to fashion a sling and then after allowing it to fade away again I helped her slowly sit up so I could lift her into my arms.

After that I began scanning our surroundings until I spotted a cave nearby and strode towards it on foot, leaving the Ecto-Suit behind for now. Letting me carry her like this only because she was still in a great deal of pain, Danielle rested quietly against me as I stepped into the cave and just to make sure it wasn't home to any hostile ghosts, I made my ghostly aura to flare as a warning for any occupants to keep their distance as well as extended my own ghost senses to make absolutely sure we were alone. And thankfully, we were...

I felt Danielle shutter beside me only to hiss in pain again and grip her shoulder so I eased her into a sitting position on a nearby rock. She leaned her head back on the cool stone and then stared up at the roof of the cave with an unfocused and tired gaze. Still, I wasn't sure whether it was fatigue or mistrust that made her stop acknowledging my presence but regardless, once I knew Danielle was safe for the time being I set to work gathering supplies and of course bringing the Ecto-Suit into the cave with us to see if there was any way for me to repair it manually since I could make most tools by crystallizing my ecto-energy into ghostly constructs.

Thanks to my duplicates it hardly took any time at all to gather plenty of materials to build a pair of beds from, build a fire, and other such things like any good survivalist. One might think someone who is half-ghost and can teleport would not need to know these things to survive but you would be wrong. To me, it was of the utmost importance to know the basics of survival in the unlikely event that I ever lost access to my powers and had to do without. But short of ending up lost in space I believe I was well-equipped to handle almost any situation. And luckily for us, I knew which ghost plants were safe for human consumption so there is no fear of starvation.

Regardless, I stayed with Danielle in person while my duplicates took care of the rest. And to my surprise, Danielle was cleverly using her newfound ice powers as a cold pack against her sore shoulder while I cleaned the cut on her forehead in the meantime. It turns out I misdiagnosed it since the wound wasn't actually as deep as it first appeared, and thanks to our enhanced healing abilities as half-ghosts it would likely be gone soon. Not to mention since we were already in the Ghost Zone there was plenty of raw ecto-energy to give us a boost, which Danielle needed far more than I did.

Pulling my hand away and noting how Danielle was refusing to meet my gaze, I sighed and told her plainly, "I know we're in a hurry, but just be grateful our ghost powers will mend that shoulder in only a few hours whereas if you were a normal girl it could take weeks. And...I should thank you for saving me, as undignified as it was being carried off like that under your arm."

"Would you rather I carried you bridal style like you always carry me?" Danielle laughed humorlessly, though it sounded hollow and raspy which deeply concerned me.

"Danielle, have you been overusing your Final Dirge?" I asked and she defensively said no, not bothering to elaborate either to rest her voice or because Danielle didn't want to answer me. Deciding to let it go for now I began talking to her just to fill the silence and confessed, "No, I'm certain you have. I've pushed you to go beyond your limits to fight this battle alone and only put you in more danger as a result. I'm truly sorry for that my dear...and I do not blame you for not trusting me anymore. But please, believe me when I say you are more important to me than any of this and I've given up on my plans to become the Ghost King."

"The only thing that matters-" I whispered, stroking her cheek affectionately with my forefinger, "-is that you're safe now. I won't leave your side again and I will never risk betraying your trust again. You are my everything, Danielle. And I was a fool to let the fear and uncertainty I refused to admit to regarding our future together to poison those feelings."


	58. Interwoven

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: **_Yeah, Vlad was just scared of losing her but he's finally calmed down enough to realize what a mistake this whole thing was. Anyways, I hope this next chapter doesn't feel too out of nowhere but I really want to help them reconnect before the drama unfolds so **WARNING, there are some slightly sexy scenes incoming up ahead! You've been warned!**_

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Chapter 58: Interwoven

(Chapter inspired by Just Breathe by Rival & Cadmium ~ ft. Jon Becker)

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Danielle's POV

We must've both nodded off at some point because when I opened my eyes, Vlad's makeshift sling had fallen loose and it was half-draped over us like a blanket. And from the looks of it, Vlad had either consciously or subconsciously wrapped his arms snugly and protectively around my waist while trying to be careful not to jostle my injured shoulder. Since he was holding me so close to his chest though the hypnotic sound of his heartbeat must've lulled me to sleep...

Either that or Vlad was right and I hit my limit then both literally and figuratively crashed and he followed sometime after in the middle of watching over me. I'm just glad Nocturne left my dreams alone so I could enjoy a dreamless sleep without any cryptic messages. I felt much better than before but sadly my throat was still pretty sore but apart from that I seemed to be ok. And after carefully untangling myself from Vlad's embrace I gingerly checked my shoulder too just to make sure I was all healed up and was relieved to find that it didn't hurt anymore.

I wanted to check the cut on my forehead too but we didn't exactly have a mirror so I decided to go look for a puddle of water or something. I mean, one of Vlad's duplicates came back with water earlier that he carried in a ecto-energy bowl just so Vlad could clean the blood off so there had to be some nearby. Looking down at him I considered waking Vlad up but honestly, he was probably pretty beat too from searching for me and sore from the crash. I'm just glad Vlad seems to have finally calmed down and come to his senses enough to realize what an asshole he's been lately.

That's a good sign, but its going to take a while for me to drop my guard around him.

Still, as hesitant as I am to trust Vlad again after everything he's put me through, the warmth of his hand against my cheek earlier was matched only by the love burning in his eyes that to me was undeniable. And then there's the fact that Vlad did help me out when I couldn't break those molten chains by myself because the heat was too much for me. If we could just keep at it and free Famine and his steed together, then maybe Vlad and I could finally put this all behind us and start over because I hate fighting him.

I hate not being able to trust him or trust myself around him when my heart still ached for Vlad's touch. I forgot how much I've missed his loving embrace holding me safe and secure, his warmth, his scent. Imagining it as I walked out of the cave and began looking for signs of water nearby, I was caught off guard when a sickly sweet scent wafted towards me and I stopped.

_What is that...? Where's it coming from?_ I wondered, glancing around unsurely.

Alarm bells were going off to turn around right now if I knew what was good for me since wandering alone in a jungle would have been dangerous enough in normal circumstances, but a ghostly one? Yeah, I might as well be asking to be eaten by some freaky ghost monster. That being said I didn't want this to end up being a total waste of time so after shaking my head to clear the haze from that weird scent, I gathered some dead sticks and figured we could use that for a fire or something.

It didn't take long for me to retrace my steps and luckily I made it back inside before Vlad opened his eyes since I know for sure he would have freaked out if he thought I ran off again, especially while possibly still injured. And he wasn't exactly wrong about that. If I really felt like trusting him at all at this point or that it was too much of a risk I would have left even though Vlad helped me out with the Horsemen of War. Still, when our eyes met I wasn't sure whether to smile or not so looking for an excuse I blurted out-

"Hey, Vlad, sorry to bother you but would you mind telling me where you found that water from earlier? I'm really thirsty," blushing when I became a bit too fixated on watching Vlad stretch and regally replace his cape, I looked away sharply and dropped the dead sticks into the pile he must've gathered through his duplicates.

Sweeping past the pile of wood beside me, without hesitation, Vlad brushed my hair aside to check my head for me and after nodding to himself he asked, "I can show you in a moment, but first, how does your shoulder feel?"

"It feels fine, completely normal!" I said a bit more loudly than I meant to, jerking away when he reached up to brush his hand across my shoulder too. "You um...did a good job relocating it earlier so thanks, Vlad."

Furrowing his brow at my odd behavior but pulling his hand away respectfully, Vlad sighed, "That's good, but you mustn't strain yourself until we know for sure it has fully healed. Your voice still sounds a bit hoarse too so I'll make some herbal tea for you once we bring back some more water. There should be plenty of healing herbs growing nearby with the correct properties to soothe your sore throat. I gathered some earlier but those are for your injuries and not digestion. There just wasn't time to venture further in search of food while you were in need of my care."

Relaxing a bit when Vlad took a step back I nodded, "Not sure if we have time for all that now either but ok, lead the way."

After that I awkwardly walked beside him and watched as Vlad expertly examined the plants around us and picked a few, handing them to me and explaining what they would do. It sort of reminded me of when Vlad went searching for that one rare ghost plant for me as a gift that came from a weeping willow tree where two lovers were buried under it and their love manifested in that sort of magic plant. It was a bittersweet memory for me and as much as I was tempted to bring it up, things between us were still really tense.

Before long, we had almost gathered everything we needed when I lept back and yelped in surprise when I felt something slither across my boot and dropped a few of the plants bundled up in my arms. Vlad's head whipped around in alarm and he asked if I was alright and while still blushing a deep red, I stared down at my feet, glancing from side to side for whatever I felt but when I saw nothing I muttered that I was just startled when something crawled over my foot and that it was probably some kind of ghost bug. He didn't seem to buy that excuse but let it drop anyway and said that what I had left in my arms would have to do since we didn't want to waste time gathering them again.

Feeling dejected I dragged my feet for a minute then gave up and started floating instead, plus I really was unnerved by whatever passed across my boot a second ago. Pathetic I know since I fight ghosts for a living, but honestly, being alone with Vlad again after what I had to do to get into the Ghost Zone by myself in the first place was making me all jumpy and nervous. I had no idea how sincere Vlad was about finally letting go of his dumb plans of becoming the new Ghost King to help me finish this my way. But the thing is, it wasn't even MY way...it was OUR way since we've been destined to do this together ever since we became half-ghost.

I still needed to tell Vlad about that part, about how Death said he split his power between us and how I was supposed to reconnect with him and share it, but the thing is I wasn't exactly sure how to do that. I don't even know what sort of power Death even gave us really. Well, whatever, we'd figure it out eventually I suppose. But for now, we were stuck here until I was back at a 100% or at least the Ecto-Suit was.

* * *

"There, this should do the trick," Vlad smiled, pleased with his makeshift tea set which again was made of his ecto-energy, and that honestly made this really strange to me as he handed me the cup with the tea he just made.

It smelled surprisingly good for something brewed from plants in the Ghost Zone, very...earthy but oddly minty or something close to it. I was just praying it really was just for my sore throat and not some sly way for him to drug me again and drag me back home. And sensing my doubt, Vlad leaned in close, pulling the cup along with my hand to his lips and taking a sip to prove otherwise.

"I understand your caution my dear, but as you can see its just tea. I promise," Vlad assured me and I ignored the indirect kiss and shrugged in defeat, taking a sip from the other side of the cup either way. My face scrunched up when I noticed how bitter it tasted and Vlad apologized for that since some of the other herbs I dropped earlier were meant to counteract the bitterness and sweeten it for me.

"Sounds legit," I sighed, forcing myself to take another sip since it did soothe the soreness in my throat, "It's my own fault anyway. You must think I'm such a baby for being so jumpy when we just escaped War's lair and I beat up most of his skeleton dudes all by myself. Not to mention I've faced much bigger and scarier ghosts before so it's unlike me to freak out over a bug."

After finishing my first cup and forcing down a second, I gagged and as soon as I told Vlad I was done he let his energy burn off the rest of the water from the energy construct and then let it disappear altogether. It was beyond weird to see Vlad use his energy for something like this but it beat making tools ourselves from scratch. Besides, he was going to have to do that with the Ecto-Suit too later on. Looking over at in I frowned because Vlad explained a moment ago that it was still synced to my brainwaves technically which means we were going to have to re-calibrate it so he could make the repairs.

If I knew I could completely trust Vlad to fight at full strength against Pariah instead of ducking out at the first sign of trouble, aka me being put in serious danger, I would have been tempted to go ahead and leave it behind and rely on just our combines powers. But frankly, I still needed the firepower so I could match his power level and teach the Ghost King a lesson in pain personally for messing with my town. And there's no way I was going to let Vlad drive it either since he might just use it to overpower me in a fight and like I was worried about before drag me back to Amity Park.

Just thinking about it made me worry because I have no idea how everyone else is doing or if they've even realized that we're gone. But whatever the case might be, now that we've come this far it was time for me to come clean with Vlad. AFTER I cleaned out this gross taste from my mouth that is...

"Ugh, that tea was super gross. I'm going to go get some more water to wash the taste out. I'll be back in a minute Vlad," I announced, about to walk off when he grabbed my wrist.

"Danielle-" he began, but after seeing the guarded look on my face Vlad thought better of whatever he was about to say and finally gave in and let go, but not before warning me to be careful.

"I'll be fine, I'm just going back to the same spot anyway and that's not very far. If I need you I'll shout! Thanks to that weird ghost plant tea I can actually do that now without sounding like I'm about to croak," I joked, making an actual croaking sound like a frog and trying to make him laugh since I felt guilty for being so dismissive. He didn't laugh but Vlad smiled warmly and told me to stay safe so I nodded and floated out of the cave again, retracing our steps back to that small ravine.

Even in the Ghost Zone the same survival rules applied. Never drink stagnant water since its probably full of bacteria and other shit and always look for running water. Honestly, we're lucky this island is basically a jungle because I assume even ghost plants need water to some degree, right? Or maybe I'm overthinking it.

Regardless, I greedily gulped down the cool water once I reached the ravine and it was such a relief to get that horrible taste out of my mouth. It wasn't too bad at first while the tea was still so hot it was hard to taste much anyway, but as it cooled down the bitterness became more apparent and again I've never been a fan of anything too bitter. I prefer drinks that were sweet or tart...like whatever I was smelling now.

Wiping my mouth with the back of my gloved hand and catching my breath after drinking so much water at once, I didn't notice that sweet scent was back until I realized it was much stronger than before. And this time, I couldn't help but feel curious about what it might be coming from now that I wasn't as jumpy anymore. Following the enticing scent, I pushed aside some bushes and gasped when I saw these bright glowing purple flowers all over that looked totally alien to me, and yet the scent was very calming and I couldn't help but think how peaceful this spot was. Vlad probably didn't notice it earlier because of the bushes behind me were so thick, though I'm surprised he couldn't at least smell it since the scent was much stronger now.

Wanting to take a closer look at the odd flowers I knelt down and cupped one between my hands, breathing deeply against my better judgment. Yeah, this smelled way better than that tea. It was so sweet and floral. I could just imagine laying here surrounded by it all day...or forever because they smelled so good and I never wanted to leave.

I felt so insanely relaxed and serene that I didn't notice or even care when I felt vines slowly wrapping around my arms and legs, higher and higher, caressing my curves like the practiced touch of a lover. I gasped softly when one of them slithered up my spine, over my shoulders, and lightly cradled my chin before tracing my lips sensually. After that, the vines supported my body and carefully maneuvered me into a more comfortable position, making sure I was immobile but didn't feel threatened before exploring my body even further.

My breath hitched when the vine teasing my lips curved down and boldly slid into the collar of my hazmat suit, curling around the underside of my breast and squeezing in circular rhythmic patterns. A second one joined in, giving the same treatment to my other breast and I moaned, lifting my leg higher and arching my back as if aching for more. Sensing my desire, I felt the vines around my legs catch the edge of my boots and pulled them off before wrapping themselves up my legs through the legging, stroking the underside of my sensitive thighs. I whimpered because that's not where I wanted them to touch me...I wanted them inside me.

No...I wanted Vlad inside me.

"Oh Vlad..." I moaned, my eyes rolling slightly as I panted and reached towards nothing with my hands since my arms were still coiled up too and curled my toes. Trough my drunken haze I could remember Vlad's sultry touch on my body so vividly and feel his fingers entwining with mine as the heat built up in my chest and down between my legs.

I frowned when the vines suddenly began to writhe and tighten painfully around me until I heard the real Vlad's voice reach me and I was abruptly uprooted from the ground and pulled into his arms, the scent of something kinda like incense filling my lungs as the flowers burned and hissed angrily all around me. _Wait...flowers don't hiss,_ I thought blearily, suddenly back on high alert despite my body still feeling heavy and sensitive over every inch of my skin.

Looking up, I saw that the flowers had turned into these...neon red and purple Venus flytrap creatures and their long vine-like limbs were still reaching towards me, snapping like vipers to try and shoo Vlad away like he was nothing but a pest to them and they wanted me back. To make things ten times creepier I heard them all talking in a single voice and saying things like, _'she's our flower now, go find your own'_ and_ 'begone flesh-walker'_ or _'we found her first.'_

Realizing all at once what was going on, I blushed bright red and turned to them angrily, feeling beyond stupid for falling for this trap when I already sensed something was off a bit earlier and forgot to warn Vlad about it. Idiot! Meanwhile, Vlad was hurling ghostly fireballs at them, but several of the plant creatures had roots stuck into the ravine that they were using to absorb and spray water over us to douse the flames. It did help wash off the aphrodisiac spores or whatever off of me so while Vlad was busy fighting them off I stood up barefoot and snarled.

"I am nobody's freaking flower! Least of all yours! Goddamn it, and here I thought it was bad enough when the Banshee stole my voice and put it in a magic lily, but now I have plants cropping a feel on me? Gross!" feeling dirty all of a sudden I shivered and hugged myself then just barely saw it in time when a wave of red barbs or thorns shot out from their mouths and went flying towards Vlad and I shouted, "Vlad! Look out!"

Vlad turned in the direction of my voice just in time to avoid most of them but sadly one grazed his side and he grimaced. The wound began oozing ectoplasmic blood but I seriously hoped those barbs weren't poisoned since I'm not sure if I'd be able to figure out how to treat it even with Vlad's help walking me through it. Either way, now that we were side by side again I asked if he was ok just to make sure and after getting confirmation I nodded and smirked when I realized I was facing the ravine. This was perfect! If Vlad couldn't burn these plant freaks, maybe we could force them to spray more water and then put them on ice!

"Vlad, I have an idea! Keep attacking them so they'll continue spraying water all over. Once it's wet enough I'll try freezing them!" I explained, and without a word Vlad nodded and charged forward, creating several duplicates so that our numbers were evenly matched.

As for me, I had to watch my footing since the ghost plants kept trying to ensnare my legs again. Plus I was barefoot at the moment. One of them caught my wrist but thankfully I froze the offending limb and formed a ghostly tail so they had nothing left to grab onto but my arms and torso, which I was doing my best to keep out of their reach. These guys were fast but I was faster, although honestly, it was really hard to stay focused thanks to the ghostly sedatives in my system. Because of that, after one of them managed to catch me by both arms and yanked me forward, releasing a puff of spores in my face directly from what I assume was their throat as they exhaled loudly.

I tried to hold my breath as long as I could and only inhale through my nose when my head was turned and absolutely needed to, but when they got fed up and coiled their vines over my nose and most of my face so I couldn't breathe. I struggled to get free again and after a while, I seriously thought I was going to straight-up suffocate until their grip finally relented and unfurled from around my nose and mouth, but as a result, a blast of those damn spores hit me directly in my face and made everything start spinning. Refusing to give in though, I reached out with both hands, grabbing its upper and lower jaw part, and unleashed a Final Dirge on it and sent it flying over the bushes.

Thankfully it had already let go of me to let me breathe a second ago so I wasn't thrown back along with it. And I didn't have to keep up my attack very long either once Vlad caught it by the stem where I assume its neck would have been and not only snapped it but set the creature ablaze with one hand.

The ghost screeched, flailing its vines in all directions until it went still and was reduced to ash between Vlad's fingertips. He smiled at me which I could only assume meant that had to be the last one, but then another vine latched onto him from behind and yanked him towards the ravine. Scowling I rushed forward before it pulled him all the way to the water to drown him I assume and shot an ice beam through my hands, encasing the ghost and stopping it in its tracks along with the flow of water. And using what little energy I had left, I gave the frozen vine a swift kick then grabbed Vlad's arm to yank him free.

"Vlad, get us out of here!" I yelled, starting to feel way too light-headed to hold on for much longer thanks to the spores in my lungs making me feel weak in the knees so to speak.

"Hold on!" Vlad shouted in return, pulling me close before teleporting us just past the cave over to the clearing where we first crashed.

It wasn't over yet though, we could hear rustling between the ancient trees so there had to be as many of them as there were flowers so we needed to escape somewhere until they settled down and turned back into that flower trap again I assume. I told Vlad as much and he agreed since we would have to come back later for my boots and the Ecto-Suit anyway. But for now, we needed to clear out so without letting go of me Vlad teleported again to what looked like the very edge of the island where we flew over before I spiraled out of control during a coughing fit.

We stood there for a minute, listening closely, although my knees were shaking and I could barely stand. To my surprise though Vlad wasn't doing much better and he was sweating pretty heavily. Worried I checked the cut on his side but it actually looked pretty good all things considering. It was a clean wound and already partly healed thanks to our ghost powers. His hands were shaking too but not nearly as bad as the rest of me was but when I looked down I saw...well, the fabric around his crotch looking a bit tight and I blushed when it dawned on me what was actually making him sweat so much...

It wasn't because he was poisoned, it was Vlad was being overcome by arousal too.


	59. Metamorphosis

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Danny Phantom

**Note: ** **WARNING lots of**** sex scenes ahead!** ** You've been warned! **Also, sorry for the delay. I've been on a writing spree with a fanfic over on my other profile that was taking all my attention! As for this chapter, I have a confession to make. I usually don't write smut for smut's sake but I really wanted an excuse for Danielle and Vlad to get back together, and I have a plan to make it story relevant don't worry. I just felt guilty for adding the aphrodisiac bit in the previous chapter when that wasn't planned. Or, well, I was going to have Vlad be the one who was caught but it didn't make as much sense since he knows more about the dangers of the Ghost Zone.

* * *

Chapter 59: Metamorphosis

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Vlad's POV

This debilitating feeling of intense desire that made my blood boil had to be some form of cruel retribution for my crimes, much like the unexpected sight of those wretched plant ghosts touching MY beloved so provocatively! I knew something was wrong when I realized that Danielle was taking too long to return from a short trip to get a drink of water from the ravine. For a moment I feared she was looking for an excuse to leave me behind again but I wanted to trust her. And earlier, when she was startled when something passed over her boot, now that I think about it it was likely one of these ghosts setting up their erotic trap after sensing Danielle's exquisitely rare ghost energy and sampling it in order to create the most enticing scent especially to lure her in.

It's no wonder I didn't sense them before since these ghosts are known for changing their ghost signature and scent depending on the type of prey they wish to lure in. And as a secondary measure, if their first snare failed for whatever reason, those barbed teeth-like formations in their mouths contained a far more potent dose of this aphrodisiac to immobilize their victims. That's why even though this trap was set for Danielle, the moment that toxin entered my bloodstream the effects rapidly began to take effect. Of course, for the most part, I had the will power to resist it but it was painful all the same...

Even though she hadn't been struck by one of these barbs Danielle was clearly feeling the same sensations as I was but far more deeply since those ghost plants adapted their sickly sweet spores to cater to her desires most of all which she must have inhaled. And the fact that even while intoxicated Danielle had called out my name as they began to pleasure her, oh it made my ache for her that much more powerful and tempting which unfortunately is a very dangerous thought right now for both of us. That's what those ghost plants do, they drug their victims and have intercourse until they're too weak to resist and then they leech off their ecto-energy like a parasite...

True, normally this relationship was more of a catch and release sort of thing unless they really got a taste for you, and that's when you ran the risk of them attempting to merge their energy with yours to become a new being. It's a rare occurrence, but it has been known to happen. And given what's happened with Danielle in the past when ghosts have admitted that her energy is desirable above all others, I knew that if I didn't step in I could very well lose her...

But if anyone was going to become one with Danielle again, it's me.

However, as I said I needed to make sure we found a safe place to, well, flush the toxins out of our systems, or else we weren't going to have the energy to do what needs to be done by freeing the final Horsemen, Famine, together. We seemed safe enough for the moment but I could tell that Danielle was having a hard time standing and it didn't escape my notice that she was breathing heavily and pressing her body closer to me subconsciously. And my body, it was betraying me by making it harder to focus as my pants grew tighter in the nether regions.

Clearly my throat I told her while pulling myself away reluctantly, "We...should be safe for the moment but if you don't mind my asking, how did this happen? I can explain what those ghosts actually are in a moment if you'd like. Also, I'm very proud of your quick thinking earlier my dear, that was very brave."

Snapping at of her lustful daze, Danielle blushed and hugged herself, looking ashamed of herself and awfully bashful when she asked in return, "Um, it's kind of hard to explain. But really it's my own fault that this happened. Earlier I smelled something oddly sweet while I was looking for the ravine the first time so I could check my reflection and see if the cut on my head had healed. I forgot to mention it while we were out picking Ghost Zone herbs together and- Vlad I'm really sorry! Also, um, how-how long were you watching when those things started to...molest me?"

"Not as long as you might think. I only arrived when you called my name and that's when I noticed the vines wrapping around your body and realized what was happening and attacked them to rescue you. Besides, I'm the only one allowed to touch you," I breathed, fixating on her lips when they parted to form words which only got caught in her throat.

Her eyes falling half-laden, Danielle reached towards the cut on my side and passed her fingers gingerly over the wound and I shivered, but not from pain, it was because I craved Danielle's touch so much it was infuriating. A shame I knew it was only because of the drugs that she was just as starved for sexual attention as I am. And if Danielle wanted it, I would give it to her but not here, not out in the open like this. But either way we needed to address this quickly before we became too intoxicated to move let alone defend ourselves if those ghosts came after us again.

"We should look for another cave nearby until those ghosts settle down, it would be dangerous to fight them while under the influence of their toxins. The least we can do is find somewhere to wash off the spores on our bodies, but as for the rest-" I blushed which is normally very much unlike me to feel so unsure, and yet since I had no idea where Danielle stands or what she wants it put me in a precarious position.

Biting her bottom lip, Danielle nodded and to my surprise she said, "I know, you feel the same way I do so we'll have to help each other release some pent up sexual tension, right? I wasn't expecting this to happen so soon and...I know I can trust you with my body at least. I suppose I don't need to worry about the rest if it helps us both."

"Danielle..." I whispered, cupping her cheek and gazing into her glowing green eyes sadly, "I'm sorry I let this happen. I never wanted to force you into this sort of position ever again or let our desires make us lose our minds. If you don't want this, we can...take care of the problem separately."

"Idiot," Danielle muttered, leaning into my touch, "Do you really think I would have called out your name if I wanted to do this alone?"

* * *

It took all the self-control I had left to find another cave and as luck would have it, we found an extremely beautiful spot, a cave covered with a layer of soft glowing moss and as luck would have it there was even a pool more than deep enough for us to bathe in that was naturally lit by glowing stones at the bottom. And no longer feeling shy about it, Danielle and I quickly undressed and entered the water together, pressing out bodies close and kissing deeply. I was still in ghost form this time but that hardly mattered and Danielle seemed to avoid cutting herself on my fangs just fine as we swirled our tongues together.

Still kissing we plunged into the refreshingly cool water and I tangled my hands in her snowy white hair, opening my eyes only to be met with an ethereal sight. She was like a water nymph the way she effortlessly glided through the water, her ghostly glow a bright halo around her supple curves and gleaming peridot green eyes. In our ghost forms, we didn't need to come up for air so we just floated there, hands passing over every inch of one another to wipe away the lingering spores and Danielle even kissed my wound again, and to my surprise...it glowed white-hot and healed instantly.

I was stunned until I saw how our hands were interwoven and glowing just like the night of the meteor shower when Danielle and I felt closer than ever before.

The water consumed my tears as I began to feel Danielle's heartbeat against mine when she drew close again, my back arching into her touch while my free hand slid down and gripped her ass. She gasped silently in the water, bubbles floating from her mouth but when Danielle turned to me again there was nothing but love in her eyes and maybe even hope. After we spent the next few minutes caressing each other, I finally drew Danielle out of the water and began gliding my tongue across her skin, kissing it, snaking lower and lower until I went well past her breasts and over her stomach to her aching heat.

Lifting her feet to float rather than stand, I looked at her adorably flushed expression as I began licking her heat and twirling my tongue. Eventually Danielle drifted down to a laying position, her arms draped above her head as she watched me breathlessly. "Vlad...mmm..." Danielle moaned, her hands cradling my head, "I've missed you...so much. AH!"

I felt her hips jerk and smiled, lifting my face to look at her, but when I saw a slight hint of uncertainty too I crawled on top of her so our faces were level and whispered heatedly, "It's alright Danielle. I know you're thinking you're only feeling like this because of those aphrodisiac spores, but I love you and I still want this. I want to feel your presence, sense your thoughts, your feelings, I don't want you to close your heart to me again. I want us to be one in body and spirit...just like this..."

Reaching towards her chest I phased my hand inside and her eyes flew wide and she reflexively wrapped her hands around my wrists, sputtering, "Vlad what-what are you doing? What is..."

Once I found what I was looking for, I reached my hand to stroke her core and Danielle immediately bucked against me, her hips quivering. Noting her fearful expression, I unfurled one of her hands and gently held it to my own chest, smiling, "This is something I've always wanted to try but I never had the courage before to make love to you in ghost form. I was afraid you'd only see me as a monster and not the man you love. But this...this is the ultimate sign of trust.

"For us to mix our core energy, to expose the innermost part of ourselves, its something one could almost consider sacred even among ghosts because it also leaves our cores vulnerable if our partner has any ill intent and crushes it. I was afraid of showing you my ugliness, my darkness, but no more," stroking her core again just to let her experience the pleasure on a level she never has before when it rippled across every inch of her being, I told Danielle, "Danielle, I want you to touch my core. Then you will finally understand what has driven me to this madness, and that only you can bring me back out of this darkness again. Please...accept all of me again inside you."

I could tell she was still afraid of being hurt, but Danielle put aside that fear and nodded, slowly phasing her hand into my chest just like I showed her and before long I felt her fingers brush against my core and moaned, "Yes...oh yes...deeper Danielle."

Urged on by my words she closed her hand around my core and caressed it lovingly in tempo with mine and we both pressed out bodies closer, eyes rolling as the pleasure built up. Faster and faster we moved until I couldn't take it anymore and raised my hips, hilting her in one go with my shaft and Danielle screamed in ecstasy and wrapped her legs around me.

We grinded against each other, kissing heatedly and stroking each others cores as our hips thrust up and down in wild abandon. It was so much more intense than anything we've ever done before, likely more so thanks to the drugs boosting our sexual desires. Soon, the bond was made and a sort of thread kept our cores attached and freed our hands which I took full advantage of to knead her supple breasts, pinching and twisting the nipples. Likewise Danielle reached up and curled her hands around my ass, kneading each cheek as well as much as she could with me pounding deep inside of her with my shaft.

It soon became impossible to tell where her pleasure ended and mine began since our moans and gasps echoed through the cave and our cores kept us connected to experience everything the other person was feeling, thinking, and we used those signals to deepen the pleasure by doing to the other whatever we were aching for at any given time. I created a duplicate at one point and impaled Danielle on both sides, keeping her sandwiched between us as we thrust in and out, either kissing or kneading her breasts and thrusting our hips. And when we moved positions, she put her mouth around my shaft and sucked hard, consuming every drop of cum that burst out, and just like she did earlier I cradled her head and moaned, bucking into the back of her throat.

After dismissing the duplicate she forced me onto my back and once again began stroking my core directly while I trust my shaft up inside of Danielle as she slammed down. She swirled her tongue around my nipples as well, moaning my name, and all at once we felt our connection solidify again, or perhaps crystallize is the better word. Because even if this was only brought on to combat the effects of the drugs, our heated passion had reforged the bond previously broken by my foolish actions. I could feel it. Danielle had become a part of me as much as I had with her in every sense of the word, and that realization made me so happy that when I came again deep inside of my beloved, my world went white for a moment as everything clicked back into place and she collapsed against me, her hips still moving to bask in the afterglow of that incredible orgasm.

Either way, there was no doubt in my mind now that Danielle knew the true depths of my love now, my need for her, my desire, and whatever ugliness she touched just now it felt like she had burned it away. I finally felt whole again and it brought tears to my eyes as I tiredly wrapped my arms around Danielle and wept, telling her I loved her over and over again until I started to drift off to sleep, but the last thing I heard her say was...

"I love you too, Vlad, more than anything," and then she kissed me one last time before we let our exhaustion take hold and for the first time since the incident with the Banshee, we shared the same dream...


End file.
